.'//v     Wlf 


UNITED   STATES 
COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUKYEY 

CARLILE  P.  PATTERSON 

SUPEKINTENDENT 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  SOLVE  THE  PROBLEM 


OF  THE 


FIRST  LANDING  PLACE  OF  COLUMBUS 


APPENDIX  No,  18-REPORT  FOR  1880 


(APPENDIX  No.  18,  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY  REPORT  FOR  1880.) 

AN  ATTEMPT  TO  SOLVE  THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  FIRST  LANDING  PLACE  OF  COLUMBUS 

IN  THE  NEW  WORLD. 


£Jy    Capt.   Gr.  A7".  FOX,    Assistant   Secretary    of  the    ]N"avy  from.    ]VEay,  18G1,  to  November, 
1SGG,  Member  of  tlie  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  etc. 


I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

The  discovery  of  America  by  Christopher  Columbus  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important  event 
recorded  in  secular  history.  Ancient  philosophers  had  suggested  the  sphericity  of  the  earth,  the 
zone  of  water,  and  the  theoretical  possibility  of  reaching  the  Indies  by  sailing  west  5  and  Colum 
bus  recalled  these  suggestions  before  the  great  councils  that  ridiculed  and  rejected  his  proposal. 

The  art  of  navigation  is  as  old  as  civilization,  and  the  practice  of  it  must  have  begun  when 
bartering  commenced.  Its  early  development  in  European  waters  was,  probably,  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  Mediterranean,  with  open  boats,  such  as  Homer  mentions.  Vessels  of  this  character 
could  not  make  a  commercial  nation  like  that  which  throve  in  Phoenicia.  Therefore  we  find  that 
her  ships  were  large  and  that  they  used  both  sails  and  oars.^)  More  than  three  thousand  years 
ago  the  sailors  of  this  little  state  had  passed  out  of  the  Mediterranean,  had  founded  Cadiz,  and 
were  trafficking  along  the  Atlantic  shores  of  Europe  and  Africa. 

The  maritime  spirit  of  the  Phoenicians  descended  upon  the  Carthagenians,  the  Italians,  and 
the  Portuguese.  The  last  named  began  that  golden  age  of  geographical  discovery  which  charac 
terized  the  fifteenth  century. 

All  navigators  antecedent  to  Columbus  followed  the  same  way  in  searching  for  new  countries. 
They  crept  along  the  shores  of  contiguous  lands  making  no  discoveries  beyond  unless  by  chance, 
through  the  stress  of  storms,  or  by  the  letting  loose  of  birds. 

The  Vikings  tribe  of  Norway  were  an  exception.  The  area  of  sheltered  fiords  in  their  fretted 
coast  exceeds  all  the  arable  land  in  the  country.  Hardy  venturesome  seamen  grew  here  from  the 
law  of  environment,  and  their  vessels  also  were  evolved  in  a  tempestuous  ocean  and  by  means  of 
a  business  very  different  from  trade.  In  shape  these  resembled  the  present  whale-boats,(2)  which 
are  proved  to  be  the  best  type  for  rough  seas. 

A  well-preserved  specimen,  supposed  to  have  been  made  about  the  tenth  century,  wras  dug  out 
of  a  tumulus  at  Gogstad,  Norway,  in  tli£  spring  of  1SSO.(3)  It  is  72  feet  long,  17  wide,  and  it 
probably  drew  5  feet  of  water.  There  are  twenty  benches  for  rowers.  Near  the  middle  is  a  wooden 
step  for  a  mast,  and  indications  that  this  might  have  been  lowered  at  will.  The  vessels  of  the 
Northmen  were  obviously  good  sea-boats  and  from  their  light  draft  and  the  alternative  of  oars, 
they  must  have  been  very  handy  in  the  neighborhood  of  land,  but  under  canvas  they  could  make 
no  headway  unless  by  "  sailing  large." 

The  Phoenicians  used  the  Pole  Star  in  navigating  and  the  ancient  mariners  of  Ceylon  regu 
lated  their  track  through  the  ocean  by  observing  the  flight  of  the  birds  which  they  set  free  at 
intervals.(4)  In  this  mode,  and  also  from  being  forced  to  scud  in  gales,  the  Northmen  extended 

(')  Ezekiel  xxvii,  5-7  [about  588  B.  C.].    Probably  this  time  was  the  height  of  her  power. 

C2)  See  frontispiece.    Denmark  in  the  Early  Iron  Age.    London,  1866.     C.  Eugelhardt. 

(:))  See  La  Nature  for  1880. 

(<)  History  of  Merchant  Shipping  and  Ancient  Commerce.    W.S.Lindsay;  4  vols.     London,  1874.    Vol.  I,  pp.  14  and  359. 


their  discoveries  until  filially,  in  a  storm,  they  saw  Greenland  in  the  ninth  century  and  Labrador 
in  the  tenth.  There  is  a  sequence  of  land  across,  which  points  out  the  successive  steps  they  took. 
West  180  miles  from  Norway,  are  the  Shetlands;  thence  west-northwest  170,  to  the  Faroes;  240 
miles  farther,  on  the  same  course,  lies  Iceland;  and  northwesterly,  165  more,  is  Greenland.  The 
longest  distance  is  from  this  to  Labrador,  500  miles,  whence  the  coast-line  is  continuous. 

It  is  indisputable  that  the  Northmen  were  the  ablest  seamen  and  boldest  navigators  of  ancient 
times ;  but  they  were  neither  traders  nor  colonizers.  The  lands  which  they  discovered  in  the  west 
were  supposed  to  be  an  extension  of  the  European  Continent.  They  derived  no  advantage  from 
them,  neither  did  the  world.  In  the  graceful  language  of  Washington  Irving,  "If  the  Norsemen 
saw  the  New  World,  it  was  but  a  transient  glimpse,  leading  to  no  certain  or  permanent  knowledge, 
and  in  a  little  time  lost  again  to  mankind^1) 

Columbus  was  an  efficient  seaman  and  also  a  religious  enthusiast — a  rare  combination.  In 
his  correspondence  with  Toscanelli,  in  1474,  is  the  first  mention  of  his  decision  to  seek  the  Indies 
by  sailing  west.  Three  years  afterward  he  visited  the  northern  regions,  Iceland  probably,  where 
he  must  have  found  the  tradition  of  western  discoveries,  although  the  secret  of  the  Sagas  was 
not  published  until  the  last  half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Whatever  he  learned  there  had  no 
influence  upon  his  previous  resolution.  He  did  not  propose  to  hunt  after  the  lands  which  the 
Northmen  had  discarded.  His  purpose  was  to  open  a  way,  by  water,  to  the  rich  and  populous 
countries  spoken  of  by  Marco  Polo,  4g*i  this  was  linked  in  his  mind  with  the  propagation  of  the 
Christian  faith  and  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  Infidels. 

Everything  essential  to  such  a  voyage  had  been  ready  for  a  long  time  through  the  growth  of 
navigation.  In  the  previous  century,  Edward  III,  of  England,  had  good,  stout,  sailing  ships  and 
plenty  of  seamen.  The  mariner's  compass  was  in  use  as  early  as  1100-12  ")0  A.  D.(2)  Latitude  by 
observation  was  familiar  to  sailors  (see  Appendix  D)  and  "dead  reckoning"  of  some  kind  had  always 
been  practiced.  Parallels  and  meridians  were  applied  in  the  second  century.  Columbus  himself 
made  maps,  and  globes  are  mentioned  in  his  journal.  His  plan,  and  the  reasoning  by  which  he 
supported  it,  seem  clear  enough  now ;  but  then  every  council  rejected  it.  In  his  letter  to  the  King 
and  Queen  of  Spain,  narrating  his  fourth  voyage,  the  Admiral  wrote:  "For  seven  years  was  I  at 
your  royal  court,  where  every  one  to  whom  the  enterprise  was  mentioned  treated  it  as  ridiculous; 
but  now  there  is  not  a  man,  down  to  the  very  tailors,  who  does  not  beg  to  be  allowed  to  become  a 
discoverer."(3) 

His  first  proposal  was  to  the  King  of  Portugal,  to  steer  west  from  Lisbon.  This  would  have 
taken  him  to  America,  at  a  point  five  miles  south  of  Cape  Henlopen ;  distance,  3,005  miles.  Japan 
is  9,801  miles  west  from  Lisbon;  but  along  the  great  circle,  which  goes  through  Europe  and 
Siberia,  it  is  only  5,768  miles. 

Columbus  gives  no  reason  for  going  to  the  Canary  Islands  to  take  his  final  departure.  Irving 
says  it  was  the  damaged  state  of  the  Pinta's  rudder  that  led  him  to  go  there  to  exchange  it;(4) 
but  on  the  day  he  sailed  from  Spain,  August  3,  1492,  he  entered  in  his  journal  that  he  was 
steering  for  the  Canaries,(5)  and  the  mishap  to  the  Piiita  was  not  till  the  6th  of  Augnst.(G)  Martin 
Behem's  globe  and  Toscanelli's  map  agreed  in  placing  Cipango  (Japan)  due  west  from  the  Canaries. 
Columbus  knew  these  fact/,  and  his  desire  to  steer  across  the  ocean  in  the  same  latitude,  was 

^  / 

accordant  to  a  usage  of  navigators  which  has  been  given  up  only  since  the  introduction  of  chro 
nometers.  His  going  to  the  Canary  Islands  was  providential,  because  a  west  course  from  there  is 
within  the  influence  of  the  trade  winds,  of  which  he  was  ignorant,  and  these  wafted  him  continu 
ously  onward,  while  his  crew  were  grumbling  at  his  persistence.  If  he  had  sailed  west  from 
Lisbon,  or  from  Palos,  he  would  have  been  antagonized  by  variable,  and  by  westerly  winds,  thus 
lengthening  the  passage  and  thereby  adding  to  the  discontents  of  the  men,  all  «£  which  might 
have  compelled  him  to  abandon  his  voyage. 

(')  living's  Columbus.     Revised  edition,  1854.     Vol.  I,  Introduction,  p.  2. 

(a;  Jlullam's  Middle  Ages.     Vol.  Ill,  p.  394;  and  Er*ch  mid  Griiberx  Knnjd.     Ill,  p.  302. 

(3)  Coleccionde  los  Viages  y  Descubrimientos,  etc,    Narurrele.     Madrid,  1825.     Tomo  I,  p.  311. 

(4)  Irring's  Columbus.    Revised  edition,  1854.    Vol.  1,  p.  130. 
(*)  See  Appendix  D. 

(6)  See  Xavarrete.    Toino  I,  p.  4,  August  6;  also  prologue,  pp.  2-3. 


In  his  first  log  across  the  Atlantic,  he  likened  the  weather  to  that  of  Andalusia  in  April.  It 
lacked  nothing,  he  said,  except  the  songs  of  the  nightingales.  Such  it  has  been,  where  he  crossed, 
for  a>ous  of  time.  On  this  route  the  vessels  of  the  Crusaders  might  have  gone  to  America  in  the 
twelfth  century  with  less  peril  than  they  went  from  England  to  Joppa  then. 

In  recent  years  small  boats  from  the  United  States  have  arrived  safe  in  England,  in  spite  of 
bnd  weather  and  faulty  observations. 

The  unfolding  of  physical  laws  has  dissipated  the  artificial  terrors  of  the  ocean;  but  in  the 
time  of  Columbus  superstition  and  ignorance  brooded  there,  making  it  truly  a  "  sea  of  darkness," 
which/fhe  imaginatTonlGulv^had  pierced. 

The  world  is  not  indebted  to  the  wisdom  of  the  learned  for  the  eventful  voyage  that  opened 
the  oceans  to  commerce,  and  continents  to  trade  and  settlement.  To  Columbus  belongs  the  merit 
of  this  inestimable  boon.  He  inspired  the  wise  and  good  Queen  Isabella^)  equally  with  the  humble 
sailors  of  Palos  to  put  their  trust  in  his  scheme.  He  was  as  persistent  in  maintaining  it  through 
the  rebuffs  of  eighteen  years  as  he  was  steadfast  in  holding  to  his  predetermined  course  across 
the  Atlantic. 

It  takes  not  a  jot  from  the  glory  of  his  discovery  that  he  underestimated  the  size  of  the  earth; 
or  that  he  died  in  ignorance  of  the  transcendent  importance  of  his  deed ;  or  -that  the  Northmen 
had  preceded  him.  The  fulfilment  of  his  design,  to  steer  west  until  he  reached  the  Indies  or  found 
intervening  land,  was  the  triumph  of  human  reasoning ;  it  was  the  soul's  work,  into  which  neither 
chance  nor  the  fickle  winds  intruded. 

The  aim  of  this  monograph  is  to  try  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  first  landing-place  of  Colum 
bus  in  the  Xew  World.  It  is  founded,  as  all  others  are,  upon  Las  Casas's  (abridged)  copy  of  the 
"log-book",  or  journal,  of  Columbus.  Nothing  has  been  raked  from  the  arcana  of  the  past  to 
impeach  this;  and  it  will  continue  to  be  used  until  the  original  journal  is  produced  or  this  copy 
is  shown  to  be  spurious. 

It  is  manifest  that  no  landfall,  or  track,  can  stand  which  is  supported  by  assertions  that  are 
in  opposition  to  Las  Casas's  narrative.    Knowing  this  to  be  true  I  have  tested  in  the  following 
pages  every  track,  by  placing  paragraphs  from  each  author  and  from  the  journal  in  juxtaposition 
so  that  any  one,  with  the  help  of  the  correct  appendix  chart,  shall  discern  the  contradictions. 
*  The  selection  of  a  new  landfall  and  track  through  the  Bahamas,  different  from  all  hitherto 

(04  /  c*dL  asci>ibed  to  Columbus,  is  the  natural  result  of  this  sifting.    The  track  which  I  have  laid  down  was 
7  chosen  because  it  appears  to  be  the  only  one  that  can  be  made  to  fit  the  courses,  distances,  and 

descriptions  in  the  log-book. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  31, 1881. 

(')  Columbus  wrote — Navarrete,  Vol.  I,  p.  266 — "In  the  midst  of  the  general  incredulity  the  Almighty  infused  into 
the  Queen,  my  lady,  the  spirit  of  intelligence  and  energy,  and  while  every  one  else,  in  his  ignorance,  was  expatiating 
only  on  the  inconvenience  and  cost,  her  Highness  approved  of  it,  on  the  contrary,  and  gave  it  all  the  support  in  her 
power." 


6 


NARRATIVE    AND    DISCUSSION. 

Columbus  made  four  voyages  to  the  New  World.  The  first  was  from  the  village  of  Palos,  which 
he  left  on  Friday,  the  3d  day  of  August,  1492,  with  a  squadron  of  three  small  vessels  and  about 
ninety  men.  The  largest  vessel  was  the  Santa  Maria,  his  nag-ship;  the  next,  the  Piuta,  commanded 
by  Martin  Alouso  Piuzon ;  and  the  smallest,  the  Nina,  under  command  of  Vincente  Yafiez  Pinzon,  a 
brother  of  Martin.  He  went  directly  to  the  Canaries,  where  he  arrived  August  12,  and  he  refitted 
and  reprovisioned  his  vessels  there.  Thursday,  the  6th  of  September,  he  sailed  from  the  harbor  of 
St.  Sebastian,  in  the  island  of  Gomera,  but  was  becalmed  among  the  Canaries  until  Saturday  night, 
when  he  met  the  usual  northeast  wind  and  steered  west,  his  predetermined  course  for  the  Indies. 
He  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  made  the  land  at  2  a. in.,  Friday,  the  12th  of  October  (old  style). (')  After 
sunrise  he  lauded  and  took  formal  possession  of  a  small  island  of  the  Lucayos  [Bahamas],  called  by 
the  natives  Guanahaui,  but  named  by  him  San  Salvador.  The  15th  and  16th  of  October  he  visited 
and  named  the  second  island  Santa  Maria  de  la  Coucepcion.  The  17th  and  18th,  and  part  of  the 
19th,  he  was  at  the  third,  named  by  him  Fernaudiua.  Part  of  the  19th,  and  to  the  24th,  he  explored 
the  shores  of  the  fourth,  which  he  thought  the  natives  called  Saomete,  but  he  gave  it  the  name  of 
Isabella.  On  the  26th  he  anchored  south  of  seven  or  eight  islands  which  he  called,  Sand  Islands. 
Leaving  these  early  on  the  27th  he  brought  his  squadron  to  anchor  Sunday,  the  28th  of  October,  in 
a  harbor  of  Cuba;  this  island  he  named  Juana.  From  this  date  until  December  5  he  examined 
the  northeast  coast,  and  the  harbors  of  Cuba ;  then  he  crossed  over  to  Hayti,  which  he  called 
Espanola.  While  exploring  the  harbors  and  north  shore  the  Santa  Maria  was  wrecked  on  the 
evening  of  December  24,  near  the  present  Laycul  Bay.  This  calamity  led  Columbus  to  make  a 
settlement  from  the  crew  in  this  bay. 

He  left  here  on  the  4th  of  January,  1493,  and  followed  the  coast  to  the  bay  of  Samana.  Hence, 
on  the  16th  of  January,  he  sailed  for  Spain.  On  the  18th  he  arrived  at  the  A/ores,  and  left  there 
the  24th.  On  the  4th  of  March  he  was  compelled  by  stress  of  weather  to  put  into  Lisbon,  lie 
sailed  thence  the  13th,  and  on  Friday  the  15th  of  March,  after  an  absence  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-four  days,  he  returned  in  the  Nina,  to  Palos. 

He  sailed  on  his  second  voyage  from  Cadiz,  Wednesday,  the  25th  of  September,  1493,  with 
three  large  vessels  and  fourteen  small  ones,  and  about  1,500  men.  He  anchored  at  the  Canaries 
and  remained  from  the  1st  to  the  13th  of  October;  thence,  steering  more  to  the  southward  than 
on  his  first  voyage,  on  Sunday  the  3d  of  November  he  discovered  an  island  which  he  named 
Dominica.  From  here  he  steered  to  the  northward  and  westward,  visited  several  of  the  Caribbean 
Islands,  Porto  Eico,  north  side  of  Hayti,  south  side  of  Cuba,  Jamaica,  the  south  side  of  Hayti, 
around  the  east  end  to  the  north  side,  thence  to  the  island  of  Guadaloupe,  and  on  the  10th  of 
March  he  left  there  for  Spain  and  anchored  at  Cadiz  June  11,  1490. 

On  his  third  voyage  he  sailed  from  San  Lucar  May  30,  1498,  with  six  vessels ;  he  touched  at 
Porto  Santo,  Madeira,  the  Canaries,  and  anchored  June  27  at  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands.  He  left 
there  July  5  and  steered  still  more  to  the  southward,  which  brought  him  on  the  31st  of  July  to 
an  island  which  he  named  Trinidad.  The  next  day,  while  coasting  the  south  shore,  he  discovered 
the  continent  of  South  America.  He  continued  along  the  main  land  until  August  14,  when  he 
stood  over  to  Hayti  where  he  was  detained  for  more  than  a  year  by  the  disorganized  condition  of 
affairs. 

On  the  23d  of  August,  1500,  a  new  governor- general,  Don  Francisco  de  Bobadilla,  arrived.  His 
instructions  were  so  vague  that  his  wicked  heart  construed  them  to  permit  him  to  put  irons  upon 
the  limbs  of  the  discoverer  of  the  New  World,  and  in  this  pitiable  condition  Columbus  arrived  at 
Cadiz  on  the  25th  of  November,  1500. 

His  fourth  and  last  voyage  was  also  from  Cadiz.  Leaving  there  on  the  8th  of  May,  1502,  with 
four  small  vessels  and  150  men  he  touched  on  the  coast  of  Morocco,  sailed  from  the  Canaries  May 
i'"),  and  anchored  at  Martinique  (2)  June  15;  thence  along  Santa  Cruz  and  Porto  Kico,  and  on  the  29th 

(')  If  the  Gregoiiau  Calendar  of  1582,  but  which  is  reckoned  from  the  Council  of  Nice,  is  applied  to  Columbus'a 
discovery,  it  will  make  the  date  Friday,  the  21st  day  of  October. 

(2)  Irviny  and  Major  say  Martinique;  Navarrete  says  Santa  Lucia. 


of  June  lie  arrived  on  the  south  side  of  Ilayti ;  left  there  July  14,  touched  at  the  Morant  Cays,  and 
the  islands  south  of  Cuba  which  he  had  visited  on  his  second  voyage,  and  then  to  the  small  island 
of  Guanaja,  or  Bouacca,  from  which  on  the  30th  of  July,  1502,  he  saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  continent 
of  North  America.  He  then  followed  the  coast  of  Central  America  and  the  coast  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama  to  the  Gulf  of  Darien  until  the  1st  of  May,  1503,  when  he  sailed  for  Hayti,  but  owing 
to  the  strong  westerly  current  he  brought  up  among  the  small  islands  on  the  south  of  Cuba  where 
he  had  anchored  the  year  before.  Near  the  end  of  June  he  put  into  Jamaica,  and  his  vessels  being 
unseaworthy  he  remained  there  until  June  28, 1504,  when  he  was  rescued  and  taken  to  Hayti.  On 
the  12th  of  September  he  sailed  for  Spain  and  arrived  at  San  Lucar  November  7,  1504.  He  died 
at  Valladolid  on  the  20th  of  May,  1500. 

From  this  brief  summary  of  the  voyages  of  Columbus  to  the  New  World  we  learn  that  he  visited 
and  named  five  islands  of  the  Lucayos  on  his  first  voyage,  but  that  he  remained  among  them  only 
fifteen  days;  all  his  other  voyaging  was  along  the  coasts  and  to  the  islands  which  border  the  Carib 
bean  Sea.  He  never  returned  to  the  Lucayos,  nor  are  they  often  mentioned  in  the  contemporaneous 
narrations.  Within  a  few  years  after  the  death  of  Columbus,  King  Ferdinand  authorized  the 
transportation  of  laborers  from  them  to  Ilayti,  to  work  the  mines  ychere.  In  this  way  the  whole 
population  perished.  In  the  Bahamas,  at  the  present  time,  there  are  no  descendants  of  the  simple 
natives  described  by  Columbus. 

The  chart  which  he  made  of  the  Lucayos,  the  declarations  in  writing  which  signified  his  formal 
possession  of  Guauahani,  the  journal  which  he  kept  for  u  Their  Highnesses,"  and  all  the  original 
documents  essential  to  authenticate  this  historical  point,  have  disappeared. 

The  contemporaries  and  acquaintances  of  Columbus,  Peter  Martyr,  Andres  Bernaldes,  G.  F.  de 
Oviedo,  Marco  A.  Sabelico,  Augustus  Giustiniani,  and  his  son  Fernando,  whose  writings,  or  copies 
thereof,  are  preserved,  give  no  information  which  will  assist  the  student  to  determine  the  island 
upon  which  he  first  landed.  There  are  four  that  have  been  pointed  out  and  argued  for  most 
earnestly,  which  I  shall  enumerate.  Beginning  at  the  southeast  the  first  is  Grand  Turk  Island,  in 
latitude  21°  31'  north,  longitude  71°  08'  west  from  Greenwich.  It  is  5£  by  1£  miles,  has  6.87  square 
miles,  is  generally  low,  with  an  elevation  at  the  highest  part  of  70  feet ;  bare  of  trees,  and  about 
one-third  of  the  surface  is  salt  and  fresh  water  lagoons.  This  place  is  affirmed  by  Don  M.  F.  de 
Navarrete,  Coleccion  de  los  Viages  y  descubrimientos  que  hicieron  por  mar  los  Espanoles  desdes  fines 
del  siglo,  XV,  Madrid,  1825,  Tomo  I,  and  supported  by  Samuel  Kettell,  Personal  Narrative  of  the 
First  Voyage  of  Columbus  to  America,  Boston,  1827.  George  Gibbs,  Proceedings  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society,  1846,  Appendix;  and  E.  H.  Major,  Select  Letters  of  Columbus,  edition  of  1847, 
London. 

The  second  island  is  that  of  Mariguana.  The  east  end  is  latitude  22°  17'  north,  longitude 
72°  39'  west  from  Greenwich.  It  is  23 £  miles  long  and  from  2  to  6£  wide;  has  about  96  square 
miles,  and  is  low,  with  the  exception  of  a  hill  near  the  middle  101  feet  high,  and  another  at  the  east 
end  90  feet.  There  are  neither  lakes  nor  lagoons  on  the  island.  This  is  put  forward  by  Fr.  Adolph 
de  Varnhagen,  who  published  in  Chili,  in  1864,  a  work  called  LaVerdadera  Guanahani  de  Colon.  He 
republished  it  in  1869  at  Vienna. 

The  third  is  Watling's  Island.  The  latitude  of  the  southeast  point  is  23°  55'  north,  longitude 
74°  28'  west  from  Greenwich.  Length  north  and  south  13  miles,  and  breadth  about  5  to  7.  It  has 
60  square  miles.  Near  the  center  is  a  hill  of  140  feet.  A  lagoon  of  brackish  water  takes  up  one 
third  of  the  island.  Juan  Bautista  Muiioz  first  chose  Watling  in  his  Historia  del  Nuevo  Mundo, 
Madrid,  1793,  Tomo  I.  He  is  sustained  by  Capt.  A.  B.  Becher,  Royal  Navy,  author  of  Land  Fall 
of  Columbus,  London,  1856.  O.  Peschel,  Geschichte  des  Zeitalters  der  Entdeckungen,  Stuttgart  and 
Augsburg,  1858;  and  R.  H.  Major,  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  vol.  XLI,  May  8, 1871, 
wherein  he  recants  his  former  approval  of  Grand  Turk  and  adopts  that  of  Captain  Becher. 

The  fourth  island  is  that  known  as  Cat,  or  San  Salvador.  The  southeast  end  is  latitude  24°  09' 
north,  longitude  75°  18'  west  from  Greenwich.  Northwest  and  southeast  it  is  43  miles,  and  the 
breadth  2£  to  3£  miles.  At  the  southeast  end  a  part  runs  west-southwest  10  miles,  with  a  width  of 
3£.  There  are  160  square  miles  in  it.  At  the  northwest  end  the  hills  rise  to  400  feet,  and^are  the 
highest  land  in  the  Bahamas.  It  has  neither  lakes  nor  lagoons.  The  principal  writers  who  have 
adopted  Cat  are  Catesbj,  Njiiural  History  of  Carolina,  1731.  A  New  Collection  of  Voyages  and 


8 

Travels,  J.  Knox,  London,  1767.  Ail  elaborate  note  in  the  Second  Volume  of  the  French  Translation  of 
Xavarrete,  p.  339,  Paris,  1828;  the  author  of  this  note  is  Mr.  De  La  Eoquette.  Revue  nautique  du 
premier  voyage  de  Christophe  Colomb  au  noxrcaii  monde  par  M.  le  Baron  de  Montlezuu,  Noncelles 
Annales  des  Voyages  et  des  Sciences  Gcographiques,  Dcuxicme  Serie,  Tome  X,  Paris,  1828,  and  Tome 
XII,  Paris,  1829.  Washington  Irving,  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Coluuthus,  London,  ISi'S, 
revised  edition,  New  York,  1848;  in  the  third  volume  of  this  edition,  appendix,  p.  380,  Irving 
gives  the  authorship  of  his  track  to  the  late  Commander  Alexander  Slidell  Mackenzie,  United 
States  Navy.  Baron  Alexander  von  Humboldt  argues,  most  ably,  in  favor  of  the  route  selected 
by  Irving  and  Mackenzie,  in  Ejcamcn  critique  de  Vhistoire  de  la  geographic  du  nouveau  continent, 
1837. 

Irving  and  Humboldt,  as  well  as  some  other  writers,  allege  that  Cat  Island  has  the  sanctity  of 
tradition  in  favor  of  it.  An  impression  to  this  effect  certainly  prevails,  but  as  those  who  have 
adopted  it  do  not  give  their  authority,  I  can  only  offer  to  the  reader  that  which  freed  my  mind  from 
its  influence.  The  Spaniards  were  the  discoverers  of  the  New  World  ;  they  made  the  first  maps 
of  the  West  Indies ;  for  a  long  time  they  were  the  exclusive  explorers  there;  they  obtained,  and 
have  now,  more  of  the  lore  of  these  regions  than  can  be  found  among  all  other  nations.  If  any 
tradition  truly  exists  it  ought  to  be  found  in  Spain,  in  the  writings  of  her  historians.  None  of  those 
I  have  cited  mention  it.  On  the  contrary,  Muiioz  and  Navarrete,  who  had  access  to  the  documents 
of  Columbus  and  his  contemporaries,  and  who  each  pointed  out  a  landfall,  differ;  neither  selecting 
Cat  (ante,  p.  7),  which  is  proof  that  there  is  no  tradition  in  relation  it  to  in  the  country  which 
alone  could  give  it  legitimate  birth. 

It  is  true  that  some  maps  can  be  referred  to  in  support  of  a  claim  for  Cat.  But  the  identification 
of  Gnanahani,  or  San  Salvador,  with  Cat  is  not  earlier  than  the  seventeenth  century.  Perhaps 
the  first  is  on  Atlas  Minor,  by  Blaeu,  West  Indies,  1635,  which  is  the  same  as  a  map  published  by 
Joannes  de  Laet,  at  Let/den,  1625,  titled,  Nicice  Wereldt.  They  are  identical  also  in  Jilaeu's  Atlas, 
Tome  XII,  Continent  fie  VAmerique,  Amsterdam,  1607.  In  the  eighteenth  century  more  maps  were 
published,  and  the  identity  of  Cat  with  San  Salvador  received  additional  support.  See  Map  of 
North  America  by  John  Senex,  Charles  Price,  and  John  Maxwell,  1710;  North  America  and  West 
Indies,  by  Emanuel  Bowen,  1733?;  D'Anville,  Map  of  1746;  The  West  India  Atlas,  by  the  late 
Thomas  Jefferys,  1775;  Laurie  and  Whittle,  1794;  and  a  Spanish  Chart  of  the  Antilles,  by  Langara, 
1799.) 

In  Major5£3ftft44«±i-  (pp.  207-210)  are  collated  the  ancient  and  modern  names  of  most  of  the 
Bahamas,  ten  of  which  he  asserts  can  be  identified.  I  cite  only  such  as  I  wish  to  use  in  my 
argument: 

He  says  that  Guanahani  is  the  present  Watling;  Gnauima  the  present  Cat  or  San  Salvador; 
Mayaguana  the  present  Mariguana;  and  Samaua,  the  present  Sainana  or  Atwood  Cay. 

He  considers  that  the  identification  of  these  four,  as  well  as  the  other  six,  involves  the  whole 
question  of  the  landfall,  and  he  is  so  certain  of  it  that  he  puts  Senhor  de  Varnhageu  "  out  of  cour  t' 
(p.  208),  because  his  Mariguana  appears  on  the  old  maps  with  Guanahani. 

Major  does  not  furnish  4ke-  evidence  to  enable  us  to  see  that  Guanahani  is  Watling.  He  refers 
to  Herrera's  map  of  1601,  with  the  expectation  that  we  shall  be  as  easily  satisfied  as  he  was. 
Looking  at  this  map  I  notice  three  little  islands  marked  "triangula,"  and  northwest  of  them  is 
Guanahani. 

Map  of  New  Spain,  Nicolas  Vallard,  1547,  and  on  plate  x  and  plate  ixii  of  the  Munich  Collection, 
1592,  this  Triango  appears. 

Map  of  America  and  West  Indies,  Anthony  Jacobsz,  1621,  we  find  Triangulo. 

Dutch  Chart,  Hesselgerritz,  about  1650,  and  map  of  1656,  Sanson  d'Abbeville,  there  is 
Triangulo. 

In  Ottens's  Atlas  Minor,  vol.  iv,  titled  Nova  Tabula  exhibens  insulas,  etc.,  there  is  a  map  which 
is  the  same  as  a  map  published  by  d'Auville  in  Charlevoix's  Hintoire  de  Pisle  Espagnole,  Paris,  1730. 
On  these  maps  we  find  Triangolo  ou  Watlins  I. 

On  Kobt.  Sayer's  Map,  November  1,  1792,  and  in  Jeffertfs  Atlas,  1794,  there  is  El  triangulo, 
Watlands  or  Watling. 

These  citations  prove  that  the  old  maps,  and  especially  Herrera's,  to  which  Major  calls  atten- 


9 

tion,  had  two  islands  placed  near  each  other  which  were  called,  respectively,  Guanahani  and 
triango,  or  Triangulo.  It  is  the  former  that  Major  says  is  the  present  Watliug;  but  from  these 
maps  it  appears  that  triango,  or  Trianyulo,  is  that  now  called  Watling. 

The  earliest  date  I  have  found  for  Guanima  [Cat]  is  a  map  in  the  Jomard  collection  styled 
Mappe  ^^onde  Pcinte  sur  parchmcn  par  ordre  Henri  II.  Eoi  de  France  (I.  Partie).  M.  D.  Ave/ac 
makes  the  date  of  this  1532.  Here  are  Guanima,  Maynana  [Mariguana],  and  one  little  island 
intermediate,  to  which  are  applied  the  two  names  of  "Guanahani",  "Samana."  This  is  remarkable, 
as  showing  a  connection  between  them  at  an  early  date. 

A  great  part  of  the  maps  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  have  Guauima  and  Maya- 
guana  as  outside  islands,  with  Guanahaui  lying  between;  and  inside  of  these  is  placed  Sam  ana. 
Triangulo  or  triango  appears,  but  not  so  often.  All  this  indicates  that  the  information  transmitted 
to  the  early  map-makers  included  the  fact  that  Guanahaui  or  San  Salvador  was  an  island  distinct 
from  Guanima  [Cat],  Mayaguana  [Marigua.ua],  Triangulo  [Watling],  and  Samana.  This  last  is 
asserted  to  be  the  present  Samana  or  Atwood  Cay  but  I  hope  to  prove,  liifci^  that  it  was  the 
ancient  name  of  the  Crooked  Island  group,  and  thus  save  myself  from  being,  as  Major  said  of  Varn- 
hageii,  "  put  out  of  court." 

The  valuable  map  of  La  Cosa,  which  I  shall  remark  upon,  fixed  the  position  of  Guanahani 
about  the  middle  of  the  northeast  side  of  the  Bahamas.  Hen-era  and  others  copy  it.  Such  a  situa- 
tion  is  so  mathematically  conspicuous,  and  so  easily  followed,  that  we  ought  to  find  Guanahani  or 
San  Salvador  retained  here  oni«te»  maps,  in  spite  of  tire-alterations  involved  in  improved  cartog 
raphy.  This  has  been  the  case.  In  the  absence  of  determining  data  as  to  which  one  was  the  true 
San  Salvador,  this  name  has  been  applied,  fortuitously,  to  several  neighboring  islands,  but  with 
the  exception  of  Xavarrete's  chart,  the  loca&e*  is  where  the  companion  of  Columbus  put  it. 

The  old  charts  can  be  appealed  to  in  corroboratiou  of  parts  of  this  investigation,  but  consenta 
neity  in  respect  to  the  first  landfall  will  never  be  reached  by  their  evidence.  Fortunately  a  copy 
of  Coliimbus's  journal  in  the  Bahamas  has  been  preserved,  but  it  has  been  construed  so  differently 
that  all  the  authors  of  the  four  tracks  referred  to  found  their  arguments  upon  this  document. 

About  1790,  Navarrete,  a  civil  officer  of  the  marine  department  of  Spain,  found  in  the  archives 
of  the  Duke  del  Infantado  a  manuscript  narrative  of  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus,  abridged  from 
the  original.  It  proved  to  be  in  the  handwriting  of  Bishop  Las  Casas,  a  contemporary  and  com 
panion  of  Columbus,  who  had  visited  the  new  world  several  times.  He  wrote  a  general  history  of 
the  Indies,  in  three  volumes,  from  the  discovery  in  1492  to  1520,  which  <*»"'«=•<•«•  <™iy  in  munnspripf 
hnt  if-,  hqri  brnn^  nntl  in,  nnrnnniblc  tn  nrhnlnm.  Las  Casas  was  engaged  upon  this  history  from  1527 
to  15^  and  he  had  before  him  the  original  journals  of  Columbus,  his  map  of  the  first  discovery, 
and  many  letters  and  documents,  now  lost.  In  the  year  1825  the  Spanish  Government  published 
this  precious  narrative,  together  with  other  valuable  papers  relating  to  Columbus.  It  is  a  matter 
of  sincere  regret  that  Las  Casas  abridged,  in  any  degree,  the  "log-book"  of  such  an  eventful  voyage, 
but  we  are  thankful  that  he  transcribed  Columbus's  words  literally,  from  the  landfall  at  Guanahani 
to  the  29th  of  October,  because  it  is  only  this  part  that  is  essential  to  prove  the  true  landing-place. 

Kettell  has  translated  into  English  all  of  Las  Casas's  abridgement  of  Colum bus's  first  voyage, 
and  Irving,  Major,  and  Captain  Becher  such  parts  as  they  considered  necessary  to  their  respective 
arguments.  Here  will  be  found  the  Spanish  text  from  the  first  edition  of  Kavarrete,  1825,  vol.  I, 
pp.  18^42,  in  parallel  columns  with  the  English  by  Mr.  H.  L.  Thomas,  translator  of  the  United 
States  State  Department,  at  Washington.  With  respect  to  the  disputed  parts  of  the  journal  care 
has  been  taken  to  have  a  strict  rendering  of  the  Spanish. 
App.  18 2 


10 


Miercoles  10  de  Octubre. 

Xavego  al  Ouesudueste,  anduvieron  ii  diez 
inillas  por  bora  y  a  ratos  doce  y  alguu  rato  a 
siete,  y  entre  dia  y  noche  cincuenta  y  nneve 
leguas:  con  to  a  la  gente  cuareuta  y  cuatro 
leguas  no  inas.  Aqui  la  gente  ya  no  lo  podia 
sufrir:  quejabase  del  largo  viage;  pero  el  Al- 
mirante  los  esforzo  lo  mejor  que  pudo  daudoles 
buena  esperauza  de  los  provechos  que  podrian 
baber.  Y  afiadia  que  por  demas  era  quejarse, 
pues  que  el  babia  venido  a  las  Indias,  y  que 
asi  lo  babia  de  proseguir  basta  ballarlas  con  el 
ayuda  de  imestro  Senor. 

Jueves  11  de  Octulre. 

.Xavego  al  Ouesudueste,  tuvieron  inucha  mar 
in  as  que  en  todo  el  viage  babiau  tenido.  Vie- 
ron  pardelas  y  un  junco  verde  junto  a  la  nao. 
Yieron  los  de  la  carabela  Piuta  una  cana  y  un 
palo,  y  tomaron  otro  palillo  labrado  a  lo  que 
pareda  con  bierro,  y  un  pedazo  de  cana  y  otra 
yerba  que  nace  en  tierra,  y  una  tablilla.  Los 
do  la  carabela  Nina  tainbien  vieron  otras  sefiales 
de  tierra  y  un  palillo  cargado  descaramojos(J). 
Con  estas  sefiales  respiraron  y  alegraronse  to- 
dos.  Anduvieron  en  este  dia  hasta  puesto  el 
sol  veiute  y  siete  leguas. 

Despues  del  sol  puesto  navego  a  su  primer 
camino  al  Oueste:  andarian  doce  inillas  cada 
bora,  y  basta  dos  boras  despues  de  media  nocbe 
audarian  noventa  rnillas,  que  son  veinte  y  dos 
leguas  y  media.  Y  porque  la  carabela  Piuta 
era  mas  velera  6  iba  delaute  del  Almirante, 
hallo  tierra  y  bizo  las  sefias  quel  Almirante 
babia  mandado.  Esta  tierra  vido  primero  un 
marinero  que  se  decia  Rodrigo  de  Triana ;  pues 
to  que  el  Almirante  a  las  diez  de  la  nocbe, 
estando  en  el  castillo  de  popa,  vido  lumbre, 
auuque  fue  cosa  tan  cerrada  que  no  quiso  afir- 
mar  que  fuese  tierra;  pero  llamoa  Pero  Gutier 
rez,  repostero  destrados  del  Key,  e  dijole,  que 
parecia  lumbre,  que  mirase  el,  y  asi  lo  hizo  y 
vidola:  dijolo  tambien  a  Rodrigo  Sancbez  de 
Segovia  quel  Rey  y  la  Reina  enviaban  en  el 
armada  por  veedor,  el  cual  no  vido  nada  porque 
no  estaba  en  lugar  do  la  pudiese  ver.  Despues 
quel  Almirante  lo  dijo  se  vido  una  vez  6  dos,  y 
era  como  una  candelilla  de  cera  que  se  alzaba 
y  levantaba,  lo  cual  a  pocos  pareciera  ser  indicio 
de  tierra.  Pero  el  Almirante  tuvo  por  cierto 
estar  junto  a  la  tierra.  Por  lo  cual  cuando 
dijeron  la  Salve,  que  la  acostumbran  decir  e" 

(')  Por  de  escarvmujos. 


Wednesday  October  Wth. 

He  sailed  west-southwest,  at  tbe  rate  of  ten 
miles  an  bour  and  occasionally  twelve,  and  at 
otber  times  seven,  running  between  day  and 
nigbt  fifty  nine  leagues:  he  told  tbe  men  only 
forty  four.  Here  tbe  crew  could  stand  it  no 
longer,  they  complained  of  tbe  long  voyage, 
but  tbe  Admiral  encouraged  tbein  as  best  be 
could  giving  tbem  bopes  of  the  profits  that  they 
might  have.  And  be  added  that  it  wa.s  useless 
to  murmur  because  he  bad  come  to  [in  quest  off] 
the  Indies,  and  was  so  going  to  continue  until 
be  found  tbem  with  God's  help. 

Thursday  jQetober  lit  It. 

He  sailed  to  tbe  west-southwest,  had  a  high 
sea,  higher  than  hitherto.  They  saw  parde- 
las(1)  and  floating  by  the  vessel  a  green  rush. 
The  men  of  the  Pinta  saw  a  reed  and  a  stick, 
and  got  a  small  stick  apparently  cut  or  worked 
with  an  iron  instrument,  and  a  piece  of  cane 
and  some  other  grass  which  grows  on  the  land, 
and  a  small  board.  Those  of  the  Caravel  Nina 
also  saw  other  indications  of  land  and  a  little 
stick  loaded  with  dog'  roses.  In  view  of  such 
signs  they  breathed  more  freely  and  grew  cheer 
ful.  They  ran  until  sunset  of  that  day  twenty 
seven  leagues.  After  sunset  he  sailed  on  his 
first  course  to  tbe  West:  they  went  about 
twelve  miles  an  bour,  and, two  hours  after  mid- 
night  they-faEd~Tuii  about  ninety  miles,  that  is 
twenty  two  and  a  half  leagues.  As  the  Cara 
vel  Pinta  was  a  better  sailer  and  had  the  lead, 
she  made  land  and  showed  the  signals  ordered 
by  the  Admiral.  Tbe  land  was  first  seen  by  a 
sailor  called  Rodrigo  de  Triana :(-)  as  the  Ad 
miral  at  ten  o'clock  at  night  standing  on  the 
castle  of  the  poop  saw  a  light,  but  so  indistinct 
that  be  did  not  dare  to  affirm  that  it  was  land  ;  - 
yet  he  called  the  attention  of  Pero  Gutierrez,  a 
King's  butler  to  it,  and  told  him  that  it  seemed 
to  be  a  light,  and  told  him  to  look,  he  did  so  and 
saw  it :  he  did  tbe  same  with  Rodrigo  Sanchez 
de  Segovia,  whom  the  King  and  Queen  had  sent 
with  the  fleet  as  supervisor  and  purveyor,  but 

(')  Pardelo — a  name  given  by  the  Spanish  to  a  bird 
of  a  gray  color,  or  white  and  black.  Doming nez  Diction 
ary—Madrid  1878. 

(2)  It  was  first  discovered  by  a  mariner  named  Rod 
riguez  Bermejo,  resident  of  Triana,  a  suburb  of  Seville, 
but  native  of  Alcala  de  la  Guadaira ;  but  the  reward  \\;is 
afterwards  adjudged  to  the  Admiral,  for  having  previously 
perceived  the  light.  W.  Irving's  Abridged  Columbus.  New 
York,  1847.  p.  60. 


11 


can  tar  a  su  uianera  todos  los  niarineros  y  se 
Lallan  todos,  rogo  y  auionestolos  el  Almirante 
que  Licieseii  buena  guarda  al  castillo  de  proa,  y 
miraseii  bien  por  la  tierra,  y  qne  al  que  le  dijese 
primero  que  via  tierra  le  daria  luego  un  jubon 
de  seda,  sin  las  otras  raercedes  que  los  Eeyes 
Labian  prometido,  que  eran  diez  mil  niaravedis 
de  juro  a  quieu  primero  la  viese.  A  las  dos 
Loras  despues  de  media  nocbe  parecio  la  tierra, 
de  la  cual  estarian  dos  leguas.  Amaiiaron(1) 
todas  las  velas,  y  quedaron  con  el  treo(2)  que  es 
la  vela  grande  sin  bouetas,  y  pusieronse  a  la 
corda(3)  temporizando  Lasta  el  dia  Yiernes  que 
llegaron  a  una  isl'eta  de  los  Lucayos,  que  se 
llainaba  en  lengua  de  indios  Guanahani^}.  Lu 
ego  vieron  gente  desuuda,  y  el  Almirante  salio 
a  tierra  en  la  barca  armada,  y  Martin  Alonso 
Pinzon  y  Vicente  Anes(5),  su  Lerinano,  que  era 
capitau  de  la  Nina.  Saco  el  Abnirante  la  ban- 
dera  Eeal  y  los  capitaues  con  dos  banderas  de 
la  Cruz  Verde,  que  llevaba  el  Almiraute  en 
todos  los  navios  por  sefia  con  una  F  y  una  Y  : 
encinia  de  cada  letra  su  corona,  uua  de  un  cabo 


de  la 


y  otra  de  otro.    Puestos  en  tierra 


vieron  arboles  muy  verdes  y  aguas  muclias  y 
frutas  de  diversas  maneras.  El  Almirante  lla- 
1116  a  los  dos  capitaues  y  a  los  demas  que  salta- 
rou  en  tierra,  y  a  Eodrigo  Descovedo,  Escri- 
bano  de  toda  el  armada,  y  a  Et)drigo  SancLez  de 
Segovia,  y  dijo  que  le  dieseu  por  fe  y  testimonio 
como  el  por  ante  todos  toinaba,  como  de  Leclio 
tomo,  posesion  de  la  diclia  isla  por  el  Eey  e  por  la 
Eeiua  sus  sefiores,  Laciendo  las  protestaciones 
que  se  .requirian,  como  mas  largo  se  contiene 
en  los  testimonies  que  alii  se  Licieron  por  es- 
cripto.  Luego  se  ayuiito  alii  mucLa  gente  de 
la  isla.  Esto  que  se  sigue  son  palabras  fonna- 

(')  Amanaron  por  amainaron. 

(*)  Treo,  vela  cuadrada  que  se  pouia  solo  cuando  habia 
mal  tiempo  para  correr. 

(3)  Ponerse  d  la  corda,  es  ponerse  al  pairo  6  otravesado 
para  no  audar  ni  decaer  del  punto  en  que  se  estii. 

(4)  Exainiuado  detenidameute  este  diario,  sus  derrotas, 
recaladas,  seuales  de  las  tierras,  islas,  costas  y  puertos, 
parece  que  esta  priinera  isla  que  Colon  descubrio  y  piso, 
pouie~ndole  por  uouibre  S.  Salrador,  debe  ser  la  que  esta 
situada  mas  al  Xorte  de  las  turcas  llamada  del  Gran  Tnrco. 
Sus  circumstancias  conforman  con  la  descripciou  que  Co 
lon  bace  de  ella.     Su  situacion  es  por  el  paralelo  de  21°. 
30',  al  Norte  de  la  mediauia  de  la  isla  de  Santo  Domin 
go- 

(5)  Debe  decir  Yaiiez. 


lie,  not  being  in  a  good  position  for  seeing  it, 
saw  notliing.  After  tLe  Admiral  said  tLis  it 
was  seen  once  or  twice,  and  it  was  like  a  small 
wax  candle  that  was  being  Loisted  and  raised, 
whicL  would  seem  to  few  to  be  an  indication  of 
laud.  TLe  Admiral  Lowever  was  quite  con 
vinced  of  tLe  proximity  of  laud.  In  conse 
quence  of  tLat  wLen  tLey  said  tLe  Salve,  wLicL 
they  used  to  say  and  sing  it  in  tLeir  way,  all 
tLe  sailors  and  all  being  present,  tLe  Admiral 
requested  and  adinonisLed  tLem  to  keep  a  sharp 
look  out  at  tLe  castle  of  tLe  bow,  and  to  look 
well  for  land,  and  said  tLat  Le  would  give  to 
Lim  wLo  first  saw  land  a  silk  doublet,  besides 
tLe  otLer  rewards  that  the  King  and  Queen 
had  promised,  namely  an  annual  pension  of  ten 
thousand  maravedis(1)  to  him.  who  should  see  it 
first.  Two  hours  after  midnight  the  land  ap 
peared,  about  two  leagues  off.  They  lowered 
all  the  sails,  leaving  only  a  storin  square  sail, 
which  is^thelnamsail  wifhoutbonuets,  and  lay 
to  until  Friday  when_they  readied  a  small  isl 
and  of  tLe  LucayoSt^caJIed  Guanahani  by  tLe 
natives.  TLey  soon  saw  people  naked,  and  the 
AdmiraPweut  on  shore  in  the  armed  boat,  also 
Martin  Alonso  Pinzon  and  Vincente  Anes,(!) 
his  brother,  who  was  commander  of  the  Nina. 
The  Admiral  took  the  Eoyal  standard  and  the 
captains  with  two  banners  of  the  Green  Cross, 
which  the  Admiral  carried  on  all  the  sliips  as  a 
distinguisLing  flag  Laving  an  F  and  a  Y:  eacL 
letter  surmounted  by  its  crown,  one  at  one  arm 
of  tLe  cross,  and  tLe  otLer  at  tLe  otLer  arm. 
As  soon  as  tLey  Lad  landed  tLey  saw  trees  of  a 
brilliant  green  abundance  of  water  and  fruits 
of  various  kinds.  The  Admiral  called  tLeliwo 
captains  and  tLe  rest  wLo  had  come  on  shore, 
and  Eodrigo  Descovedo,  the  Notary  of  all  the 
fleet,  and  Eodrigo  SancLez  de  Segovia,  and  Le 
called  tLem  as  witnesses  to  certify  tLat  Le  in 
presence  of  tLem  all,  was  taking,  as  Le  in  fact 
took  possession  of  said  island  for  tLe  King  and 
Queen  Lis  masters,  making  tLe  declarations  tLat 
were  required  as  tLey  will  be  found  more  fully 
in  tLe  attestations  tLen  taken  down  in  writing. 
Soon  after  a  large  crowd  of  natives  congregated 
tLere.  WLat  follows  are  tLe  Admiral's  own 
words  in  Lis  book  on  tLe  first  voyage  and  dis 
covery  of  tLese  Indies.  "In  order  to  win  tLe 
friendsLip  and  affection  of  tLat  people,  and  be. 

(')  One  cent  equals  2.7625  maravedis.    Irving' s  Colum 
bus,  revised  edition  1848.    Appendix  p.  381. 
(2)  It  ought  to  be  Yanez.    Navarrete. 


12 


les  del  Almirante,  en  su  libro  de  su  primera 
navegacion  y  descubrimiento  de  estas  Indias. 
„  Yo  (dice  £1)  porque  nos  tuviesen  mucha  amis- 
tad,  porque  conoscf  que  era  gente  que  inejor  se 
libraria  y  convertiria  a  uuestra  Sauta  Fe"  con 
amor  que  no  por  fuerza ;  les  di  a  alguuos  de 
ellos  uuos  bonetes  colorados  y  imas  cuentas  de 
vidrio  que  se  ponian  al  pescuezo,  y  otras  cosas 
inuchas  de  poco  valor  con  que  hobieron  rnucho 
placer  y  quedarou  tan  to  nuestros  que  era  mara- 
villa.  Los  cuales  despues  veniau  a  las  barcas 
de  los  navios  adonde  uos  estabamos,  nadando 
y  nos  traian  papagoyos  y  hilo  de  algodon  en 
ovillos  y  azagayas,  y  otras  cosas  muchas,  y  nos 
las  trocaban  por  otras  cosas  que  nos  les  daba- 
mos,  conio  cueutecillas  de  vidrio  y  cascabeles. 
En  fin  todo  toniaban  y  daban  de  aquello  que 
tenian  de  buena  voluutad.  Mas  me  parecio  que 
era  gente  muy  pobre  de  todo.  Ellos  audan  to- 
dos  desnudos  como  su  madre  los  pario,  y  tambieu 
l<is  mugeres,  aunque  no  vide  mas  de  una  farto 
moza,  y  todos  los  que  yo  vi  eran  todos  niaucebos, 
que  ninguno  vide  de  edad  de  mas  de  treinta 
afios:  muy  bien  hechos,  de  muy  fermosos  cuer- 
pos,  y  muy  buenas  caras:  los  cabellos  gruesos 
euasi  como  sedas  de  cola  de  caballos,  c  cortos: 
los  cabellos  traen  por  encima  de  las  cejas.  salvo 
unos  pocos  de  tras  que  traen  largos,  que  jamas 
cortan :  dellos  se  pin  tan  de  prieto,  y  ellos  son 
de  la  color  de  los  cauarios,  ni  negros  ui  blancos, 
y  dellos  se  piutan  de  bianco,  y  dellos  de  Colo 
rado,  y  dellos  de  lo  que  fallan,  y  dellos  se  pin  tan 
las  cams,  y  dellos  todo  el  cuerpo,  y  dellos  solos 
los  ojos,  y  dellos  solo  el  nariz.  Ellos  no  tram 
armas  ni  las  cognocen,  porque  les  amosti'6  es- 
padas  y  las  tomaban  por  el  filo,  y  se  cortaban 
con  ignorancia.  No  tieuen  algun  fierro:  sus 
a/agayas  sou  unas  varas  sin  fierro,  y  algunas 
de  ellas  tienen  al  cabo  un  diente  de  pece,  y 
otras  de  otras  cosas.  Ellos  todos  a  una  mano 
son  de  buena  estatura  de  grandeza,  y  buenos 
gestos,  bien  hechos;  yo  vide  algunos  que  teniaii 
senales  de  feridas  en  sus  cuerpos,  y  les  hice 
senas  que  era  aquello,  y  ellos  me  amostraron 
como  alii  veuian  gente  de  otras  islas  que  estaban 
acerca  y  les  querian  tomar,  y  se  defendian ;  y  yo 
crei,  e  creo,  que  aqui  vienen  de  tierra  firme  a 
tomarlos  por  captives.  Ellos  deben  ser  buenos 
servidores  y  de  buen  ingenio,  que  veo  que  muy 
presto  dicen  todo  lo  que  les  decia,  y  creo  que 
ligeramente  se  barian  cristianos,  que  me  parecio 
que  ninguna  secta  tenian.  Yo,  placiendo  a 
nuestro  Senor,  levare"  de  aqui  al  tiempo  de  mi 
partida  seis  a  V.  A.  para  que  deprendan  fablar. 


cause  I  was  convinced  that  tbeir  conversion 
to  our  Holy  Faith  would  be  better  promoted 
through  love  than  through  force ;  I  presented 
some  of  them  with  red  caps  and  some  strings 
of  glass  beads  which  they  placed  around  their 
necks,  and  with  other  trifles  of  insignificant 
worth  that  delighted  them  and  by  which  we 
have  got  a  wonderful  hold  on  their  affections. 
They  afterwards  came  to  the  boats  of  the  ves 
sels  swimming,  bringing  us  parrots  cotton 
thread  in  balls  and  spears,  and  many  other 
things,  which  they  bartered  for  others  we  gave 
them,  as  glass  beads  and  little  bells.  Finally 
they  received  every  thing  and  gave  whatever 
they  had  with  good  will.  But  I  thought  them 
to  be  a  very  poor  people.  All  of  them  go  about 
naked  as  when  they  came  into  the  world,  even 
the  women,  although  I  saw  but  one  very  young 
girl,  all  the  rest  being  young  men,  none  of  them 
being  over  thirty  years  of  age :  their  forms  being 
very  well  proportioned,  their  bodies  graceful 
and  their  features  handsome :  their  hair  is  as 
coarse  as  the  hair  of  a  horse's  tail  and  cut  short: 
they  wear  their  hair  over  their  eye  brows  ex 
cept  a  little  behind  which  they  wear  long,  and 
which  they  never  cut :  some  of  them  paint  them 
selves  black,  and  they  are  of  the  color  of  the 
Canary  islanders,  neither  black  nor  white,  and 
some  paint  themselves  white,  and  some  red, 
and  some  with  whatever  they  find,  and  some 
paint  their  faces,  and  some  the  whole  body,  and 
some  their  eyes  only,  and  some  their  noses  only. 
They  do  not  carry  arms  and  have  no  knowledge 
of  them,  for  when  I  showed  them  the  swords 
they  took  them  by  the  edge,  and  through  iguo- 
rance,  cut  themselves.  They  have  no  iron: 
their  spears  consist  of  staffs  without  iron,  some 
of  them  having  a  fish's  tooth  at  the  end,  and 
others  other  things.  As  a  body  they  are  of 
good  size,  good  demeanor,  and  well  formed ;  I 
saw  some  with  scars  on  their  bodies,  and  to  my 
signs  asking  them  what  these  meant,  they  an 
swered  in  the  same  manner,  that  people  from 
neighboring  islands  wanted  to  capture  them, 
and  they  had  defended  themselves ;  and  1  did 
believe,  and  do  believe,  that  they  came  from 
the  main  land  to  take  them  prisoners.  They 
must  be  good  servants  and  very  intelligent, 
because  I  see  that  they  repeat  very  quickly 
what  I  told  them,  and  it  is  my  conviction  that 
they  would  easily  become  Christians,  for  they 
seem  not  to  have  any  sect.  If  it  please  our 
Lord,  I  will  take  six  of  them  from  here  to  your 
Highnesses  on  my  departure,  that  they  may 


13 


Ninguna  bestia  de  ninguna  mauera  vide,  salvo 
papagayos  en  esta  isla."  Todas  sou  palabras 
del  Alrniraute. 

Sabado  13  de  Octubre. 

,,Luego  que  amanecio  vinieron  a  la  playa 
iriuclios  destos  liombres,  todos  mancebos,  como 
dicho  tengo,  y  todos  de  buena  estatura,  gente 
limy  fermosa:  los  cabellos  no  crespos,  salvo 
corredios  y  gruesos,  como  sedas  de  caballo,  y 
todos  de  la  frente  y  cabeza  niuy  anclia  nias  que 
otra  generacion  que  fasta  aqui  haya  visto,  y  los 
ojos  uiuy  fermosos  y  no  pequeuos,  y  ellos  niu- 
guno  prieto,  salvo  de  la  color  de  los  canaries,  ni 
se  debe  esperar  otra  cosa,  pues  esta  Lesteoueste 
con  la  isla  del  Hierro(1)  en  Canaria  so  una  linea. 
Las  pieruas  miiy  derechas,  todos  a  una  mano, 
y  no  barriga,  salvo  muy  bien  hecha.  Ellos 
vinieron  a  la  nao  con  aluiadias,  que  sou  hechas 
del  pie  de  un  arbol,  corao  un  barco  luengo,  y 
todo  de  un  pedazo,  y  labrado  muy  a  niaravilla 
segun  la  tierra,  y  grandes  en  que  en  algunas 
veniau  cuareuta  6  cuarenta  y  cinco  liombres,  y 
otras  nias  pequenas,  fasta  haber  dellas  en  que 
venia  un  solo  hornbre.  Eeinaban  con  una  pala 
como  de  foruero,  y  anda  a  uiara villa;  y  si  se  le 
trastorna  luego  se  echan  todos  a  nadar,  y  la 
euderezan  y  vacian  con  calabazas  que  traen 
ellos.  Traian  ovillos  de  algodon  filado  y  papa 
gayos,  y  azagayas,  y  otras  cositas  que  seria 
tedio  de  escrebir,  y  todo  daban  por  cualquiera 
cosa  que  se  los  diese.  Y  yo  estaba  atento  y 
trabajaba  de  saber  si  liabia  oro,  y  vide  que  al- 
gunos  dellos  traian  un  pedazuelo  colgado  en  un 
agujero  que  tienen  a  la  nariz,  y  por  senas  pude 
entender  que  yendo  al  Sur  6  volviendo  la  isla 
por  el  Sur,  que  estaba  alii  un  Bey  que  tenia 
grandes  vasos  dello,  y  tenia  muy  muclio.  Tra- 
baje  que  fuesen  alia,  y  despues  vide  que  no 
entendian  en  la  ida.  Determine  de  aguardar 
fasta  niauana  en  la  tarde,  y  despues  partir  para 
el  Sudueste,  que  segun  muclios  dellos  me  eusena- 
rou  deciau  que  habia  tierra  al  Sur  y  al  Sudueste 
y  al  Norneste,  y  questas  del  Norueste  les  veniau 
a  combatir  muchas  veces,  y  asi  ir  al  Sudueste  a 
biiscar  el  oro  y  piedras  preciosas.  Esta  isla  es 
bien  grande  y  muy  liana  y  de  ar boles  muy 
verdes,  y  muchas  aguas,  y  una  laguna  en  medio 
muy  grande,  sin  uinguna  montafia,  y  toda  ella 
verde,  ques  placer  de  mirarla;  y  esta  geute 
farto  inansa,  y  por  la  gana  de  haber  de  nuestras 
cosas,  y  teniendo  que  no  se  les  ha  de  dar  sin 

(')La  verdadeva  situaciou  de  esta  isla  respecto  ;i  la  del 
Hierro  es  0. 5°  S.  —  E.  5°  N. 


learn  to  speak.  I  have  seen  here  no  beasts 
whatever,  but  parrots  only."  All  these  are 
the  words  of  the  Admiral. 

Saturday  October  13th. 

.  "At  dawn  many  of  these  men  came  down  to 
the  shore,  all  are,  as  already  said,  youths  ot 
good  size  and  very  handsome :  their  hair  is  not 
wooly,  but  loose  and  coarse  like  horse  hair,  they 
have  broader  heads  and  foreheads  than  I  have 
ever  seen  in  any  other  race  of  men,  and  the 
eyes  very  beautiful  not  small,  none  of  them  are 
black,  but  of  the  complexion  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Canaries,  as  it  is  to  be  expected,  for  it  is 
east  [and]  west  with  the  island  of  Hierro  in  the 
Canaries  in  the  same  line.  All  without  excep 
tion  have  very  straight  limbs,  and  no  bellies, 
and  very  well  formed.  They  came  to  the  ship 
in  canoes,  made  out  of  trunks  of  trees  all  in  one 
piece,  and  wonderfully  built  according  to  the 
locality,  in  some  of  them  forty  or  forty  five  men 
came,  others  werer*smaller,  and  in  some  but  a 
single  man  came.  They  paddled  with  a  peel 
like  that  of  a  baker,  and  make  wonderful  speed ; 
and  if  it  capsizes  all  begin  to  swim  and  set  it 
right  again,  and  bail  out  the  water  with  cala 
bashes  which  they  carry.  They  brought  balls 
of  spun  cotton  parrots,  spears  and  other  little 
things  which  would  be  tedious  to  describe,  and 
gave  them  away  for  any  thing  that  was  given 
to  them.  I  examined  them  closely  and  tried  to 
ascertain  if  there  was  any  gold,  and  noticed 
that  some  carried  a  small  piece  of  it  hanging 
from  a  little  hole  in  their  nose,  and  by  signs  I 
was  able  to  understand  that  by  going  to  the 
south  or  going  around  the  island  to  the  south 
ward,  there  was  a  king  who  had  large  gold 
vessels,  and  gold  in  abundance.  I  endeavored 
to  persuade  them  to  go  there,  and  I  afterwards 
saw  that  they  had  no  wish  to  go.  I  deter 
mined  to  wait  until  tomorow  evening,  and  then 
to  sail  for  the  southwest,  for  many  of  them  told 
me  that  there  was  land  to  the  south  and  to 
the  southwest  and  to  the  northwest,  and  that 
those  from  the  northwest  came  frequently  to 
fight  with  them,  and  so  go  to  the  southwest  to 
get  gold  and  precious  stones.  This  island  is 
very  large  and  very  level  and  has  very  green 
trees,  and  abundance  of  water,  and  a  very  large 
lagoon  in  the  middle,  without  any  mountain, 
and  all  is  covered  with  verdue,  most  pleasing  to 
the  eye;  the  people  are  remarkably  gentle,  and 
from  the  desire  to  get  some  of  our  things,  and 
thinking  that  nothing  will  be  given  to  them 


14 


que  cleii  algo  y  no  lo  tieneu,  toman  lo  que  pue- 
deu  y  se  eclian  luego  a  nadar;  mas  todo  lo  que 
tienen  lo  dan  por  cualquiera  cosa  que  les  den ; 
que  fasta  ios  pedazos  de  las  escudillas,  y  de  las 
tazas  de  vidrio  rotas  rescataban,  fasta  que  vi 
dar  diez  y  seis  ovillos  de  algodou  por  tres  ceo- 
tis(l)  de  Portugal, que  es  una  blaiica  de  Castilla, 
y  en  ellos  habria  mas  de  una  arroba  de  algodon 
lilado.  Esto  defeudiera  y  no  dejara  tomar  a. 
nadie,  salvo  que  yo  lo  mandara  tomar  todo  para 
V.  A.  si  hobiera  en  cautidad.  Aqui  nace  en 
esta,  isla,  mas  por  el  poco  tiempo  no  pude  dar 
asi  del  todo  fe,  y  tambieu  aqui  nace  el  oro  que 
traen  colgado  £  la  nariz;  mas  por  no  perder 
tiempo  quiero  ir  a  ver  si  puedo  topar  4  la  isla 
de  Oipaugo(2).  Agora  como  fue  noche  todos  se 
fueron  a  tierra  con  sus  almadias." 


Domingo  14  de  Octubre. 

,,En  amanecieudo  maude  aderezar  el  batel  de 
la  nao  y  las  barcas  de  las  carabelas,  y  fue  al 
luengo  de  la  isla,  en  el  camino  del  Nornordeste, 
para  ver  la  otra  parte,  que  era  de  la  otra  parte 
del  Leste  que  liabia,  y  tambien  para  ver  las 
poblaciones,  y  vide  luego  dos  6  tres  y  la  gente, 
que  venian  todos  a  la  pi  ay  a  llamandonos  y 
dando  gracias  a  Dios;  Ios  unos  nos  traian  agua, 
otros  otras  cosas  de  comer;  otros,  cuaudo  veian 
qne  yo  no  curaba  de  ir  a  tierra,  se  echaban  si  la 
mar  uadando  y  venian,  y  entendiamos  que  nos 
preguntaban  si  eramos  venidos  del  cielo;  y  viiio 
iino  viejo  en  el  batel  dentro,  y  otros  si  voces 
grandes  llainaban  todos  liombres  y  mugeres:  | 
veuid  a  ver  Ios  hombres  que  vinierou  del  cielo : 
traedles  de  comer  y  de  beber.  Viuieron  muchos 
y  muclias  mugeres,  cada  uno  con  algo,  daudo  ' 
gracias  4  Dios,  echaudose  al  suelo,  y  levanta- 
ban  las  manos  al  cielo,  y  despues  a  voces  nos 
llamaban  que  fuesemos  d  tierra :  mas  yo  temia 
de  ver  una  grande  restinga  de  piedras  que  cerca 
toda  aquella  isla  al  rededor,  y  entre  medias 
queda  houdo  y  puerto  para  cuantas  naos  hay 
en  toda  la  cristiandad,  y  la  entrada  dello  muy 
angosta.  Es  verdad  que  dentro  desta  cinta 

(•)  Por  Ceuli  6  ccpti,  nioneda  de  Ceuta  que  corria  en 
Portugal. 

(*)  Marco  Polo  eu  el  cap.  cvi  de  la  relacion  de  su  viage 
asegura  baber  visto  esta  isla,  de  la  cual  bace  uua  larga 
description,  y  anade  que  estaba  situada  en  alta  mar,  & 
distancia  de  1500  uiillas  del  contiueute  dc  la  India.  El 
Dr.  Robertson  dice  que  probablemente  es  el  Japou.  J!c- 
chirclu's  hint,  sur  I'lndc  ancienne,  sec.  3. 


unless  they  give  some  thing,  and  having  noth 
ing  they  take  what  they  can  and  swim  oil'  [to 
the  ship];  but  all  that  they  have  they  give  for 
any  thing  that  is  offered  to  them  ;  so  that  they 
bought  even  pieces  of  crockery,  and  pieces  of 
broken  glass,  and  I  saw  sixteen  balls  of  cotton 
given  for  three  ceotis(1)  of  Portugal,  which  is 
equivalent  to  a  blauca  of  Castile,  and  in  them 
there  must  have  been  more  than  one  arroba  (2)  of 
spun  cotton.  I  forbad  this  and  allowed  no  one 
to  take  any  unless  I  ordered  it  to  be  taken  for 
your  Highnesses  should  it  be  found  in  abund 
ance.  It  grows  in  the  island,  although  on  ac 
count  of  the  shortness  of  time  I  could  not  as 
sert  it  positively,  and  likewise  the  gold  which 
they  carry  hanging  in  their  noses  is  found  here; 
but  in  order  to  lose  no  time  I  am  now  going  to 
try  if  I  can  find  the  island  of  Cipan.u'o.  At  this 
moment  it  is  dark  and  all  went  on  shore  in  their 
canoes." 

Sunday  October  14. 

"At  dawn  I  ordered  the  boat  of  the  ship  and 
the  boats  of  the  Caravels  to  be  got  ready,  and 
went  along  the  island,  in  a  north-northeasterly 
direction,  to  see  the  other  side,  wliieh  was  on 
the  other  side  of  the  east,  and  also  to  see  the 
villages,  and  soon  saw  two  or  three1  and  their 
inhabitants,  coming  to  the  shore  calling  us  and 
praising  God;  some  brought  us— writer,  some 
eatables;  others,  when  they  saw  that  I  did  not 
care  to  go  on  shore,  plunged  into  the  sea  swim 
ming  and  came,  and  we  understood  that  they 
asked  us  if  we  had  come  down  from  heaven; 
and  one  old  man  got  into  the  boat,  while  others 
in  a  loud  voice  called  both  men  and  women  say 
ing:  come  and  see  the  men  from  heaven:  bring 
them  food  and  drink.  A  crowd  of  men  and 
many  women  came,  each  bringing  something, 
giving  thanks  to  God,  throwing  themselves 
down,  and  lifting  their  hands  to  heaven,  and 
entreating  or  beseeching  us  to  land  there :  but 
I  was  afraid  of  a  reef  of  rocks  which  entirely 
surrounds  that  island,  although  there  is  within 
it  depth  enough  and  ample  harbor  for  all  the 
vessels  of  Christendom,  but  the  entrance  is  very 
narrow.  It  is  true  that  the  interior  of  that  belt 
contains  some  rocks,  but  the  sea  is  there  as 
still  as  the  water  in  a  well.  And  in  order  to 
see  all  this  I  moved  this  morning,  that  I  might 

(')  Copper  coin  of  the  value  of  balf  a  maravedi — Span 
ish  Dictionary. 

(*)  Equal  to  25.353145    pounds.       Modern 
Lowis  D'A.  Jackson :  London,  p.  310. 


15 


hay  algunas  bajas,mas  la  mar  no  se  mueve  mas 
quo  dentro  en  un  pozo.  Y  para  ver  todo  esto  me 
movi  csta  manana,  porque  supiese  dar  de  todo 
relacion  a  vnestras  Altezas,  y  tambien  a  donde 
pudiera  hacer  fortaleza,  y  vide  un  pedazo  de 
tierra  que  se  hace  como  isla,  aunque  no  lo  es, 
en  que  habia  seis  casas,  el  cual  se  pudiera  ata- 
jar  en  dos  dias  por  isla;  aiinque  yo  no  veo  ser 
necesario,  porque  esta  gente  es  muy  simplice 
(Mi  armas,  como  reran  vuestras  Altezas  de  siete 
que  yo  hice  toniar  para  le  llevar  y  deprender 
nuestra  fabla  y  volvellos,  salvo  que  vuestras 
Altezas  cuando  mandareu  puedeulos  todos 
llevar  a  Castilla,  6  tenellos  en  la  misma  isla 
captives,  porque  con  cincuenta  hombres  los 
terua,  todos  sojuzgados,  y  les  hara  hacer  todo  lo 
que  quisiere;  y  despues  junto  con  la  dicha  isleta 
estan  huertas  de  arboles  las  mas  hermosas  que 
yo  vi,  e  tan  verdes  y  con  sus  hojas  como  las  de 
Castilla  en  el  mes  de  Abril  y  de  Mayo,  y  mucha 
agua.  Yo  mire  todo  aquel  puerto,  y  despues 
me  volvi  a  la  uao  y  di  la  vela,  y  vide  tantas 
islas  que  yo  no  sabia  deterininarme  a  cual  iria 
primero,  y  aquellos  hombres  que  yo  tenia  to- 
mado  me  decian  por  seiias  que  eran  tautas  y 
tautas  que  no  habia  numero,  y  anombraron  por 
su  nombre  mas  de  ciento(1).  For  ende  yo  mire 
por  la  mas  graude(2),  y  aquella  determine  andar, 
y  asi  hago  y  sera  lejos  desta  de  San  Salvador, 
cinco  leguas  y  las  otras  dellas  mas,  dellas  me- 
nos :  todas  son  muy  lianas,  sin  montanas  y  muy 
fertiles,  y  todas  pobladas,  y  se  hacen  guerra  la 
una  4  la  otra,  aunque  estos  son  muy  simplices 
y  muy  lindos  cuerpos  de  hombres."  . 


Limes  15  de  Octubre. 

„  Habia  temporejado  esta  uoche  con  temor  de 
no  llegar  a  tierra  a  sorgir  antes  de  la  manaua 
por  no  saber  si  la  costa  era  limpia  de  bajas,  y 
en  amaneciendo  cargar  velas.  Y  como  la  isla 
fuese  mas  lejos  de  cinco  leguas,  antes  sera 
siete,  y  la  marea  me  detuvo,  seria  medio  dia 
cuando  llegue  a  la  dicha  isla,  y  falle  que 
aquella  haz,  ques  de  la  parte  de  la  isla  de  San 
Salvador,  se  corre  Norte  Sur,  y  hay  en  ella 
ciuco  leguas,  y  la  otra  que  yo  segui  se  corria 
Leste  Oueste,  y  hay  en  ella  mas  de  diez  leguas. 
Y  como  desta  isla  vide  otra  mayor  al  Oueste, 

(!)La  multitud  de  estas  islas  indica  que  deben  ser  las 
que  forman  los  Caicos,  las  Inagtias  chica  y  yrande,  Midri 
ff  uana,  j  demas  que  se  hallan  al  Oeste. 

(2)  Esta  isla  grande  debe  ser  la  que  Hainan  Gran  Caico, 
y  dista  de  la  primera  6^  leguas. 


give  an  account  of  everything  to  your  High 
nesses,  and  also  to  see  where  a  fort  could  be 
built,  and  found  a  piece  of  land  like  an  island, 
although  it  is  not  one,  with  six  houses  on  it, 
which  in  two  days  could  easily  be  cut  off  and 
converted  into  an  island;  such  a  work  however 
is  not  necessary  in  my  opinion,  because  the 
people  are  totally  unacquainted  with  arms,  as 
your  Highnesses  will  see  by  observing  the 
seven  whom  I  have  caused  to  be  taken  in  order 
to  carry  them  to  Castile  to  be  taught  our  lan 
guage,  and  to  return  them  unless  your  High 
nesses  when  they  shall  send  orders  may  take 
them  all  to  Castile,  or  keep  them  in  the  same 
island  as  captives,  for  with  fifty  men  all  can  be 
kept  in  subjection,  and  made  to  do  whatever 
you  desire;  and  near  by  the  said  little  island 
there  are  orchards  of  trees  the  most  beautiful 
that  I  have  seen,  with  leaves  as  fresh  and  green 
as  those  of  Castile  in  April  and  May,  and  much 
water.  I  observed  all  that  harbor,  and  after- 
--wards  I  returned  to  the  ship  and  set  sail,  and 
saw  so  many  islands  that  I  could  not  decide  to 
which  one  I  should  go  first,  and  the  men  I  had 
taken  told  me  by  signs  that  they  were  innum 
erable,  and  named  more  than  one  hundred  of 
them.  In  consequence  I  looked  for  the  largest 
one  and  determined  to  make  for  it,  and  I  am  so 
doing,  and  it  in  probably  distant  five  leagues 
from  this  of  San  Salvador,  the  others  some 
more,  some  lessTall  are^very  level,  without 
mountains  and  of  great  fertility,  and  all  are  in 
habited,  and  they  make  war  upon  each  other, 
although  these  are  very  simple  hearted  and 
very  finely  formed  men." 


Monday  October  loth. 

"I  had  been  standing  off  and  on  this  night 
fearing  to  approach  the  shore  for  anchorage 
before  morning  not  knowing  whether  the  coast 
would  be  clear  of  shoals,  and  intending  to  clew 
up  at  dawn.  And  as  the  island  was  over  five 
leagues  distant,  rather  seven,  and  the  tide  de 
tained  me,  it  was  about  noon  when  I  reached 
the  said  island,  and  I  found  that  that  side, 
which  is  towards  the  island  of  San  Salvador 
runs  north  [and]  south,  and  is  five  leagues  in 
length,  and  the  other  which  I  followed  ran 
east  [and]  west,  and  contains  over  ten  leagues. 
And  as  from  this  island  I  saw  another  larger 
one  to  the  west,  I  clewed  up  the  sails  for  I 
had  gone  all  that  day  until  night,  because  I 
could  not  yet  have  gone  to  the  western  cape, 


16 


cargue  las  velas  por  aiular  todo  aquel  dia  last  a 
la  noclie,  porque  a  tin  no  pudiera  haber  andado 
al  cabo  del  Oueste,  a  la  cual  puse  noinbre  la 
isla  de  Santa  Marta  de  la  Concepcion({],  y  cuasi 
al  poner  del  sol  sorgi  acerca  del  dicho  cabo  por 
saber  si  habia  alii  oro,  porque  estos  que  yo 
liabia  lieclio  toiuar  en  la  isla  de  S.  Salvador  me 
decian  que  abi  traiau  manillas  de  oro  muv 
grandes  ;i  las  piernas  y  a  los  brazos.  Yo  bieu 
crei  qne  todo  lo  quo  decian  era  burla  para  se 
fugir.  Con  todo,  mi  voluntad  era  dr  no  pasar 
por  niuguna  isla  de  que  no  tomase  pose*ion, 
puesto  que  touiado  de  una  se  puede  dccir  de 
todas ;  y  sorgi  e  estuve  hasta  boy  Martes  que 
en  amaneciendo  fui  a  tierra  con  las  barcas  ar 
madas,  y  sali,  y  ellos  que  eran  mucbos  asi  des- 
nudos,  y  de  la  misma  coudicion  de  la  otra  isla 
de  San  Salvador,  nos  dejaron  ir  por  la  isla  y  uos 
daban  lo  que  les  pedia.  Y  porque  el  viento  car- 
gaba  a  la  traviesa  Sueste  no  me  quise  detener 
y  parti  para  la  uao,  y  una  almadia  grande  estaba 
abordo  de  la  carabela  Nina,  y  uno  de  los  liombres 
de  la  isla  de  San  Salvador,  que  en  ella  era,  se 
echo  a  la  mar  y  se  ftie  en  ella,  y  la  noclie  de  antes 
a  inedio  ecliado  el  otro(-)  y  fue  atnis  la  al 

madia,  la  cual  fugio  que  jamas  fue  barca  que  le 
pudiese  alcanzar,  puesto  que  le  teuiamos  graiide 
avante.  Con  todo  dio  en  tierra,  y  dejaron  la  al 
madia,  y  alguno  de  los  de  mi  compafiui  salieron 
en  tierra  tras  ellos, y  todosfugeroncomo  galliuas, 
y  la  almadia  que  habiaii  dejado  la  llevamos  abor 
do  de  la  carabela  Nina,  adonde  ya  de  otro  cabo 
venia  otra  almadia  pequena  con  un  liombre  qte 
venia  a  rescatar  un  ovillo  de  algodon,  y  se 
ecbaron  algunos  marineros  a  la  mar  porque  61 
no  queria  entrar  en  la  carabela,  y  le  tomaron ;  y 
yo  que  estaba  &  la  popa  de  la  nao,  que  vide  todo, 
envie  por  dl,  y  le  di  un  bonete  Colorado  y  uuas 
cueutas  de  vidrio  verdes  pequeiias  que  le  puse 
al  brazo,  y  dos  cascabeles  que  le  puse  a  las  orejas, 
y  le  mande  volver  su  almadia  que  tambien  teuia 
en  la  barca,  y  le  envie  a  tierra ;  y  di  luego  la 
vela  para  ir  a  la^otra  isla  grande  que  yo  via  al 
Oueste,  y  mande  largar  tambien  la  otra  almadia 
que  traia  la  carabela  Nina  por  popa,  y  vide  des- 

(')  Esta  parece  ser  la  que  hoy  se  llama  Caico  del  Norte; 
antique  con  d  riouibre  de  Santa  Maria  de  la  Conception 
comprendio  todo  el  grnpo  do  las  islas  immediatas  que  se 
Hainan  lux  Caicos,  como  se  nota  mas  adelaute  en  el  dia 
16  de  Octubiv. 

(2)  Con  la  ininteligible  escritura  de  esta  palabra  en 
el  original,  y  el  vacio  6  hueco  que  sigue,  queda  obscuro 
el  sentido  del  periodo.  Acaso  quiso  decir :  y  la  noche  de 
antes  al  media  se  echo  el  otro  a  nado,  y  fue  atrds  la  almadia 


to  whicl^1)  I  gave  the  name  of  the  inland  of 
Xaitta-  Maria  de  la  Conception^  and  about  sun 
set  I  anchored  near  said  cape  in  order  to 
learn  whether  there  was  gold  there,  because 
the  men  whom  1  had  caused  to  be  taken  from 
San  Salvador  told  me  that  they  there  wore 
very  large  rings  of  gold  on  their  legs  and 
arms.  I  well  suspected  that  all  they  said  was 
deceptive  in  order  to  get  away  from  me.  Nev 
ertheless,  it  Mas  my  desire  not  to  pass  any 
island  without  taking  possession  of  it,  as  one 
taken  possession  of  the  same  may  be  said  of  all ; 
and  I  anchored  and  remained  until  to  day  tues 
•lay  when  at  dawn  I  went  on  shore  with  the 
boats  armed,  and  got  out,  and  they  who  were 
many  in  number  naked,  and  of  the  same  dispo 
sition  as  those  of  the  other  island  of  San  Salva 
dor,  allowed  us  to  go  over  the  island  and  gave 
us  whatever  we  asked  for.  And  because  the 
wind  was  increasing  across  south  east(2)  I  did 
not  like  to  stay  longer  so  I  returned  to  the  ship, 
and  a  large  canoe  was  alongside  the  caravel 
Nina,  and  one  of  the  men  of  the  island  of  San 
Salvador,  who  was  in  it,  jumped  overboard  and 
escaped  in  it,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  preceding 
night  the  other(')  and  he  went  after  the 

canoe,  which  tied  so  swiftly  that  there  was  never 
a  boat  that  could  overtake  it,  although  we  had 
a  long  start.  Nevertheless  it  reached  the  laud, 
and  the}*  left  the  canoe,  and  some  of  my  men 
went  on  shore  after  them,  and  they  all  ran  like 
hens,  and  the  canoe  they  had  left  we  took  on 
board  the  caravel  Nina,  to  which  from  another 
quarter  another  small  canoe  was  coming  with  a 
man  who  came  to  barter  a  ball  of  cotton,  and  as 
he  refused  to  go  on  board  the  caravel,  some 
sailors  plunged  into  the  sea  and  took  him  ;  and 

(:)  The  pronoun,  which,  is  feminine  in  Spanish  and  can 
not  relate  to  cape  which  is  masculine.  It  is  therefore 
manifest  that  Columbus  applied  the  name  to  the  whole 
island.— H.  L.  T.,  translator. 

(*)  The  phrase  in  the  Spanish  text  is — El  viento  cargaba 
d  la,  traviesa  Sueste.  I  find  so  much  diversity  in  regard  to 
the  meaning  of  d  la  traviesa,  that  I  venture  a  nautical 
explanation,  provided  he  \vas  where  I  put  him  on  the 
forenoon  of  the  16th  of  October— N.  W.  end  of  Crooked 
Island. — Here  the  flood  tide  ran  east,  on  the  16th,  from 
9h  a.  m.  to  3b  12m  p.  m. — see  p.  47 — His  ships  were  riding 
at  single  anchor,  to  a  windward  tide,  with  their  heads  to 
the  westward;  but  as  the  south  east  wind  increased  there 
was  the  risk  of  "breaking  shear,"  which  the  Admiral  ob 
served  from  the  shore ;  hence  his  anxiety  to  be  off. 

(3)  On  account  of  the  illegible  writing  of  this  word  in 
the  original  and  the  blank  space. that  follows,  the  meaning 
of  the  sentence  remains  in  obscurity.  Perhaps  he  meant : 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  preceding  nitjht  the  other  steam  off, 
and  icent  behind  the  canoe,  £c.  Casas. 


17 


pues  en  tierra  al  tiempo  de  la  llegada  del  otro  a 
quien  yo  habia  dado  las  cosas  susodichas,  y  no 
le  habia  querido  toinar  el  ovillo  de  algodon  pu- 
esto  quel  me  lo  queria  dar ;  y  todos  los  otros 
se  llegarou  a  el,  y  tenia  a  gran  maravilla  6  bien  \ 
le  parecio  que  eramos  buena  gente,  y  que  el  otro 
que  se  habia  fugido  uos  habia  hecho  algun  dailo 
y  que  por  esto  lo  llevabamos,  y  a  esta  razou  use" 
esto  con  el  de  le  mandar  alargar,  y  le  di  las 
dichas  cosas  porque  nos  tuviesen  en  esta  esti- 
ma,  porque  otra  vez  cuando  vuestras  Altezas  ! 
aqui  tornen  a  enviar  no  hagan  mala  coinpania ; 
y  todo  lo  que  yo  le  di  no  valia  cuatro  inara- 
vedis.  Y  asi  parti,  que  serian  las  diez  horas,  • 
con  el  viento  Sueste  y  tocaba  de  Sur  para  l 
pasar  a  estotra  isla,  la  cual  es  grandisiina,  y 
adonde  todos  estos  hombres  que  yo  traigo  de  la 
de  San  Salvador  hacen  seiias  que  hay  muy 
mucho  oro,  y  que  lo  traen  en  los  brazos  en  ina- 
nillas,  y  a  las  piernas,  y  a  las  orejas,  y  al  nariz, 
y  al  pescuezo.  Y  habia  de  esta  isla  de  Santa 
Maria  a  esta  otra  nueve  leguas  Leste  Oueste,  y 
se  corre  toda  esta  parte  de  la  isla  Norueste 
Sueste,  y  se  parece  que  bien  habria  en  esta 
costa  mas  de  veinte  y  ocho  leguas(1)  en  esta 
faz,  y  es  muy  liana  sin  montaiia  ninguna,  asi 
como  aquellas  de  San  Salvador  y  de  Santa 
Maria,  y  todas  playas  sin  roquedos,  salvo  que  a 
todas  hay  algunas  peiias  acerca  de  tierra  debajo 
del  agua,  por  donde  es  nienester  abrir  el  ojo 
cuaudo  se  quiere  surgir  e  no  surgir  mucho 
acerca  de  tierra,  aunque  las  aguas  sou  siempre 
muy  claras  y  se  ve  el  fondo.  Y  desviado  de 
tierra  dos  tiros  de  lombarda  hay  en  todas  estas 
Mas  tanto  foiido  que  no  se  puede  llegar  a  el. 
Son  estas  Mas  muy  verdes  y  fertiles,  y  cle  aires 
muy  dulces,  y  puede  haber  niuchas  cosas  que  yo 
no  se,  porque  no  me  quiero  detener  por  calar  y 
andar  muchas  Mas  para  fallar  oro.  Y  pues 
estas  dan  asi  estas  seiias  que  lo  traen  a  los 
brazos  y  a  las  piernas,  y  es  oro  porque  les 
amostre  algunos  pedazos  del  que  yo  tengo,  no 
puedo  errar  con  el  ayuda  de  nuestro  Senor  que 
yo  no  le  falle  adonde  nace.  Y  estando  a  medio 
golfo  destas  dos  islas  es  de  saber  de  aquella  de 
Santa  Maria  y  de  esta  grande,  a  la  cual  pongo 
nombre  la  Fernandina^},  falle"  un  hombre  solo  en 
nna  almadia  que  se  pasaba  de  la  isla  de  Santa 
Maria  a  la  Fernandina,  y  traia  un  poco  de  su 
pan,  que  seria  tanto  como  el  pufio,  y  una  cala- 
baza  de  agua,  y  un  pedazo  de  tierra  bermeja 

( ' )  Son  solo  19  leguas. 

(2)  Contfcese  ahora  con  el  noinbre  de  Inagua  clrim. 

App.  18 3 


T  who  from  the  poop  of  my  ship  saw  all,  sent  for 
him,  and  I  gave  him  a  red  cap  put  around  his 
arm  a  string  of  small  green  glass  beads,  and  two 
little  bells  on  his  ears,  and  ordered  that  his  ca 
noe  which  they  also  had  on  board  of  the  vessel, 
should  be  returned  to  him,  and  thus  I  sent  him 
on  shore ;  and  soon  after  I  set  sail  for  the  other 
large  island  that  appeared  at  the  west,  and  I 
ordered  that  the  other  canoe  that  the  Mua  had 
astern  should  be  turned  adrift,  when  the  man 
to  whom  I  made  the  indicated  presents  and  from 
whom  I  had  refused  the  ball  of  cotton  he  offered 
to  me  reached  the  land;  he  was  as  I  saw  imme 
diately  surrounded  by  those  on  shore,  and  he 
thought  it  a  great  wonder  and  thought  that  we 
were  good  people,  and  that  the  other  man 
who  had  fled  had  probably,  been  kept  by  us  in 
consequence  of  some  injury  done  us,  and  that 
was  the  reason  why  I  gave  him  presents  and  or 
dered  his  release,  my  aim  being  to  win  thus  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  all,  and  avoid  their  enmity 
to  the  future  expeditions  your  Highnesses  may 
send;  and  yet  all  I  gave  him  was  not  worth  four 
maravedis.  And  so  I  left,  at  about  ten  o'clock, 
with  a  south  east  wind  inclining  to  the  south 
for  the  other  island,  a  very  large  one,  where  the 
San  Salvador  men  I  have  with  me  assert  by 
signs  there  exists  much  gold,  and  that  they  wear 
it  in  rings  around  their  arms,  and  legs,  and  in 
their  ears,  and  noses,  and  around  their  necks. 
And  from  this  island  of  Santa  Maria  to  the 
other  one  there  are  nine  leagues  east  [and]  west, 
and  all  this  portion  of  the  island  runs  north  west 
[and]  south  east,  and  it  appears  that  there  are 
on  this  coast  more  than  twenty  eight  leagues  it 
is  even,  and  devoid  of  mountains,  like  those  of 
San  Salvador  and  Santa  Maria,  and  all  its  shores 
are  free  from  reefs,  except  some  sunken  rocks 
near  the  land  which  require  great  watchfulness 
when  one  wants  to  anchor  or  makes  it  prudent 
to  anchor  some  distance  from  land,  although  the 
water  is  remarkably  limpid  and  the  bottom  can 
be  seen.  And  at  the  distance  of  two  lombard 
shots  there  is  in  all  these  islands  so  much  bot 
tom  that  it  cannot  be  reached.  These  islands 
are  very  green  and  fertile,  and  have  a  balmy 
atmosphere,  they  probably  contain  many  things 
which  I  do  not  know  of,  for  I  do  not  wish  to 
stop  but  to  reconnoitre  many  islands  in  search 
of  gold.  And  since  these  thus  give  these  signs 
that  they  wear  it  on  their  arms  and  legs,  and  it  is 
real  gold  for  I  showed  them  some  pieces  of  that 
which.  I  have,  I  cannot  fail  God  helping  find- 


18 


heclia  en  polvo  y  despues  amasada,  y  unas  hojas 
secas  que  debe  ser  cosa  inuy  apreeiada  cut  re 
ellos,  porque  ya  me  trujerou  en  San  Salvador 
dellas  en  presente,  y  traia  un  cestillo  a  su  gnisa 
en  que  tenia  nn  rauialejo  de  cnenteeillas  de 
vidrio  y  dos  blancas,  por  las  cuales  conosci  quel 
venia  de  la  isla  de  San  Salvador,  y  liabia  pasado 
a  aqnella  de  Santa  Maria,  y  se  pasaba  ;'i  la  Fer- 
nandina,  el  cnal  se  llego  a  la  nao ;  yo  le  bice 
entrar,  que  asi  lo  deinandaba  el,  y  le  hice  poner 
su  almadia  en  la  nao,  y  guardar  todo  lo  que  el 
traia  ;  y  le  mande  dar  de  coiner  pan  y  miel,  y  de 
beber;  y  asi  le  pasare  a  la  Fernandina.  y  le  dare 
todo  lo  suyo,  porque  de  buenas  nuevas  de  nos 
para  a  nuestro  Sefior  aplaeiendo,  cuando  vues- 
tras  Alte/as  envien  aea,  qne  aqne.llos  que  viuie- 
ren  resciban  hoiira,  y  nos  den  de  todo  lo  que  bo- 
Were." 


Martes  1C  de  Octultrc. 

„ Parti  de  las  Mas  de  tidnta  JI<i>  m  de  In  Con- 
cepcion,  (pie  seria  ya  eerea  del  niedio  dia,  para 
la  iftla  Fernandinftj  la  eual  ainuestra  ser  grandi- 
sima  al  Oueste,  y  navegue  todo  aquel  dia  con 
calineria;  no  pude  llegar  a  tiempo  de  poder  ver 
el  foudo  para  surgir  en  limpio,  porque  es  en 
esto  imiclio  de  haber  gran  diligencia  por  no  per- 
der  las  anclas;  y  asi  temporice  toda  esta  noclie 
li  ista  el  dia  que  vine  a  uua  poblacion,  adonde  yo 
surgi,e  adonde  liabia  venidoa(]uel  lioinbrequeyo 
balle  aver  en  aquella  almadia  a  niedio  goltb,  el 
cual  liabia  dado  tautas  buenas  nuevas  de  nos 
que  toda  esta  noche  no  falto  abnadias  abordo  de 
la  nao,  que  nos  traian  agua  y  de  lo  que  tenian. 
Yo  a  cada  uno  le  mandaba  dar  algo,  es  a  saber  al- 
gunas  contecillas,  diez  6  doce  dellas  de  vidrio  en 
nn  lilo,  y  algunas  sonajas  de  laton  dcstas  que  va- 
len  en  Castilla  un  maravedi  cada  una,  y  algunas 
agujetas,  de  (pie  todo  tenian  en  grandisima 
excelencia,  y  tainbien  los  mandaba  dar  para 
que  comiesen  cuando  venian  en  la  nao  miel  de 
aziicar;  y  despues  (i  boras  de  tercia  envie  el 
batel  de  la  nao  en  tierra  por  agua,  y  ellos  de 
inuy  buena  gana  le  ensenabaii  a  mi  gente 
adonde  estaba  el  agna,  y  ellos  misuios  traian 


ing  the  place  whence  it  is  procured.  And  being 
in  the  gulf  midway  between  these  two  islands 
namely  that  of  Santa  Maria  and  this  large  one, 
to  which  I  give  the  name  of  la  l-'crndndina,  I 
found  a  man  who  was  going  from  the  island  of 
Santa  Maria  to  la  Fernandina,  he  had  a  small 
piece  of  his  bread,  about  the  sixe  of  one's  list,  a 
c.ilabash  of  water,  a  lump  of  red  earth  reduced 
to  powder  and  afterwards  kneaded,  and  some 
dry  leaves  highly  prized  no  doubt  among  them, 
for  those  of  San  Salvador  offered  some  to  me  as 
a  present.^)  and  he  carried  a  little  basket  in 
their  fashion  in  which  he  had  a  .small  string  of 
glass  beads  and  two  blancas,  by  which  I  knew 
that  he  came  from  the  island  of  San  Salvador, 
had  passed  to  Santa  Maria,  and  was  now  going 
tola  Fernandina.  and  he  came  to  the  ship:  1 
bad  him  taken  on  board  as  lie  desired,  and  or 
dered  that  his  canoe  and  all  that  lie  had,  should 
be  kept  in  the  ship;  and  had  him  treated  with 
bread  honey,  and  drink;  and  1  will  take  him  to 
la  Fernandiua,  giving  him  back  what  he  has 
brought,  in  order  that  he  may  give  good  news 
concerning  us  so  that  God  willing,  when  your 
Highnesses  shall  send  here,  those  who  shall 
come  may  receive  honor,  aiul  that  they  may  give 
us  of  all  that  they  have." 

Tuesday  October  10/7*. 
'•About  noon  I  left  the  islands  of  Santa  Maria 

de  l<i  Concept-ion  for  the  inland  <>/  F<  rn<i>idin«, 
which  appears  to  be  very  large  to  the  west,  and 
1  sailed  all  that  day  with  calm  weather  ;  I  could 
not  arrive  in  time  to  see  the  bottom  in  order  to 
get  a  clear  anchorage,  a  thing  requiring  the 
greatest  care  in  order  not  to  lose  the  anchors; 
in  consequence  1  waited  until  daylight  when 
1  anchored  near  a  village,  the  man  whom  I  found 
yesterday  in  his  canoe  in  the  gulf  had  come  to 
that  village,  and  so  favorable  was  the  account 
he  had  given  of  us  that  to  night  they  have 
been  constantly  coming  to  the  ship  in  their 
canoes,  bringing  us  water  and  everything  they 
have.  I  caused  some  things  to  be  given  to 
every  one.  such  as  small  beads,  ten  or  twelve  of 
them  of  glass  on  a  .string,  some  brass  [tin?] 
rattles  like  those  that  in  Castile  can  be  had  for 


(')  Tliis  was*  probably  tobacco.  When  at  Port  Xncvi- 
f  :is  del  Principe.  Ciibn,  November  Otli,  the.  two  messengers 
lie  .sent  into  the  eouinry  returned  and  reported,  amonji 
other  things,  that  the  natives,  men  and  women,  fumigated 
themselves  by  inhaling  smoke  from  tubes — tableau — made 
of  dried  leaves.  This  is  the  first  record  of  smoking  ci- 
gais.  See  XavaiTctc,  1st  edition,  p.  f>l.  Note  by  Las 
Casas. 


19 


los  barriles  llenos  al  batel,  y  so  folgaban  mueho 
do  nos  hacer  placer.     Esta  isla  es  grandi'sima  y 
tengo  determinado  de  la  rodear,  porque  segim 
]">uedo  entendor  en  ella,  6  cerea  della,  hay  inina 
de  oro.    Esta  isla  esta  desviada  de  la  de  Santa 
Maria  ocho  leguas  cuasi  Lcste  Oueste;  y  este 
cabo  adonde  yo  vine,  y  toda  esta  costa  se  corre 
Xornorueste  y   Sursueste,  y  vide  bieii  veinte 
leguas  de  ella,  mas  ahi  no  acababa.     Agora 
escribiendo  esto  di  la  vela  con  el  viento  Sur 
para   pujar  a  rodoar  toda   la  isla,  y  trabajar 
liasta  que  halle  Santa  of,  que  es  la  isla  6  ciudad 
adonde  es  el  oro,  que  asi  lo  diceii  todos  estos 
que  aqui  vioneu  en  la  nao,  y  nos  lo  decian  los 
de  la  isla  de  San  Salvador  y  de  Santa  Maria. 
Esta  gente  es  seinejaiite  a  aquella  de  las  dicbas 
islas,   y  una  fabla  y  unas   costumbres,  salvo 
quest  os  ya  me  pareceri  algun  tanto  mas  domes- 
tica  gente,  y  de  tracto,  y  mas  sotiles,  porque 
veo  que  ban  traido  algodou  aqui  a  la  nao  y  otras 
cositas  que  saben  mejor  refetarf1)  el  pagamento 
que  no  hacian  los  otros;  y  auu  en  esta  isla  vide 
pafios  de  algodon  fechos  como  mantillos,  y  la 
gente  mas  dispuesta,  y  las  mugeres  traen  por 
delante  su  cuerpo  una  eosita  de  algodou  que 
escasamente  les  cobija  su  natura.     Ella  es  isla 
muy  verde  y  liana  y  fertilisima,   y  no  pongo 
duda  que  todo  el  afio  siembran  pauizo  y  cogen, 
y  asi  todas  otras  eosas;  y  vide  umclios  arboles 
muy  disformes  de  losjiucstros,  y  dellos  muchos 
que  tenian  los  ramos  de  muchas  maueras  y  todo 
en  1111  pie,  y  uu  ramito  es  de  una  man  era  y  otro 
de  otra,  y  tan  disforme  que  es  la  mayor  mara- 
villa  del  mundo  cuauta  es  la  diversidad  de  la 
una  inanera  a  la  otra,  verbi  gracia,  un  ramo 
tenia  las  fojas  a  manera  de  can  as  y  otro  de  ma- 
nera  de  lentisco;  y  asi  en  un  solo  arbol  de  cinco 
6  seis  de  estas  maneras;  y  todos  tan  diversos: 
ni  estos  sou  enjeridos,  porque  se  pueda  decir 
que  el  enjerto  lo  hace,  antes  son  por  los  montes, 
ni  cura  dellos  esta  geute.    No  le  conozco  secta 
ninguna,  y  creo  que  muy  presto  se  tornarian 
cristianos,  porque  ellos  son  de  muy  bueii  euten- 
der.    Aqui  son  los  peees  tan  disformes  de  los 
nuestros  ques  maravilla.     ilay  algimos  liecbos 
como  gallos  de  las  mas  linas  colores  del  inuiulo, 
azules,  amarillos,  colorados  y  de  todas  colores, 
y  otros  pintados  de  mil  maneras;  y  las  colores 
son  tan  finas  que  no  liay  hombre  (pie  no  se 
maraville  y  no  tome   gran   deseanso  a  verlos. 
Tambien  hay  ballenas:  bestiasen  tierra  no  vide 

(')  Acaso  rej'crlar  v.  a.  ant.  oontradeeir,  repngnar,  re- 
si  stir,  reusar 6  regatcar. 


one  maravedi  a  piece,  and  some  leather  straps, 
all  of  which  they  held  in  the  greatest  estima 
tion,  and  I  also  treated  those  who  came  to  my 
ship  with  honey  of  sugar  [molasses  ?] ;  and  after 
wards  at  nine  o'clock  a.  m.    I  sent  the  ship's 
boat  to  the  shore  for  water,  and  they  willingly 
showed  my  men  where  the  water  was  and  they 
themselves  brought  the  casks  filled  to  the  boat, 
and  were  very  glad  to  be  able  to  oblige  us. 
This  island  is  exceedingly  large  and  I  have  de 
termined  to  go  around  it,  because  as  I  can 
understand  on  it  or  near  it,  there  is  a  mine  of 
gold.    This  island  lies  at  a  distance  from  that 
of  Santa  Maria  of  eight  leagues  almost  east 
[and]   west;    and  this   cape  to  which  I  have 
come,  and  all  this  coast,  runs  north-northwest 
and   south-southeast,  and  I  saw  fully  twenty 
leagues  of  it,  but  this  was  not  the  end.     Soon 
after  writing  this  I  set  sail  with  a  south  wind, 
intending  to  go  around  the  whole  island,  and 
work  until  I  should  find  Samaot,  which  is  tbe 
island  or  city  where  the  gold  is,  as  all  those  say 
who  have  come  with,  us  in  the  ships,  and  as  was 
before  asserted  by  those  of  the  island  of  San 
Salvador  and  Santa  Maria.     The  people  here 
are  like  those  of  the  said  islands,  and  speak  the 
same    language  and  have  the  same  customs, 
but  these  look  to  me  as'someAvhat  more  gentle, 
of  better  manners,  and  of  keener  intelligence, 
for  I  notice  that  in  bartering  cotton  and  other 
little  things  they  know  how  to  trade,  which  the 
others  never  did ;  and  also  on  this  island  I  saw 
cotton  cloth  made  like  mantles,  and  the  people 
more  intelligent,  and  the  women  wear  in  front 
a  small  piece  of  cotton  stuff  which  scarcely 
covers  what  decency  requires.    The  island  is 
very  green  level  and  exceedingly  fertile,  and  I 
doubt  not  that  they  sow  and  gather  panizo(') 
and  all  other  things,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year; 
and  I  saw  many  trees  whose  shape  was  very 
different  from  ours,  and  many  of  them  which 
had  branches  of  many  kinds  although  growing 
from  one  trunk,  and  one  branch  is  of  one  kind 
and  another  of  another  kind,  and  so  different 
that  the  diversity  of  the  kinds  is  the  greatest 
wonder  of  the  world,  for  instance,  one  branch 
had  leaves  like  those  of  cane  and  another  like 
those  of  a  mastic;  and  thus  on  a  single  tree 


(')  Panicnm — an  ancient  Latin  name  of  the  Italian  mil 
let  P.  Italicitm  (now  folaria  Jtalica)  thought  to  t-onie  from 
panis,  bread;  some  species  furnishing  a  kind  of  bread 
corn.  Grai/'sXew  Lessons  and  Manual  of  Botany.  Boston, 
1868.  p.  615. 


20 


ninguna  de  ninguna  inaiiera,  salvo  papagayos 
y  lagartos;  un  mozo  me  dijo  que  vido  una 
grande  culebra.  Ovejas  ni  cabras  ni  otra  nin- 
guDa  bestia  vide;  aunque  yo  he  estado  aqui 
rauy  poco.  que  es  medio  dia,  mas  si  las  hobiese 
no  pudiera  errar  de  ver  alguna.  El  cerco  desta 
isla  escribire  despues  queyo  la  liobierc  rodeado." 


Miercoles  17  de  Octubre. 

,,  A  medio  dia  parti  de  la  poblacion  adonde  yo 
estaba  surgido,  y  adonde  tome  agna  para  ir 
rodear  esta  isla  Fernandina,  y  el  viento  era  Su- 
dueste  y  Sur ;  y  como  mi  volnntad  fucse  de  se- 
guir  esta  costa  desta  isla  adonde  yo  estaba  al 
Sueste,  porque  a  si  se  corre  tod  a  Nornorueste  y 
Sursueste,  y  queria  llevar  el  diclio  camino  de 
Sur  y  Sueste,  porque  aquella  parte  todos  estos 
indios  que  traigo  y  otro  de  quien  hobe  senas  en 
esta  parte  del  Sur  a  la  isla  a  que  ellos  Hainan 
Samoet,  adonde  es  el  oro;  y  Martin  Alonso 
Pinzon,  capitan  de  la  carabela  Pinta,  en  la  cual 
yo  mamle"  d  tres  de  estos  indios,  vino  a  mi  y  me 
dijo  que  uno  dellos  muy  certificadamente  le 
habia  dado  a  entender  que  por  la  parte  del 
Xornorueste  muy  mas  presto  arrodearia  la  isla. 
Yo  vide  que  el  vieuto  no  me  ayudaba  por  el 
camino  que  yo  queria  llevar,  y  era  bueno  por  el 
otro:  di  la  vela  al  Xornorueste,  y  cuando  fue 
acerca  del  cabo  de  la  isla,  a  dos  leguas,  halle  un 
muy  maravilloso  puerto  con  una  boca,  aunque 
dos  bocas  se  le  puede  drcir,  porque  tiene  un  isleo 
en  medio,  y  son  ambas  muy  augostas,  y  dentro 
muy  ancho  para  cien(!)  navios  si  fuera  fondo  y 
limpio,  y  fondo  al  entrada:  pareciome  razon  del 
ver  bien  y  sondear,  y  asi  surgi  fuera  del,  y  fui 
en  el  con  todas  las  barcas  de  los  navios,  y  vimos 
que  no  babia  fondo.  Y  porque  pense  cuando  yo 

(')  En  el  original  dice  parecian  ;  pero  es  error  conocido. 


there  were  five  or  six  of  these  kinds;  and  all  so 
different:  nor  can  it  be  said  that  they  have 
been  grafted,  because  those  trees  grow  wild  in 
the  field,  and  nobody  cares  for  them.^)  1  know 
no  sect  among  them,  ami  as  they  are  of  very 
good  understanding,  they  would  in  my  opinion 
soon  become  Christians.  The  fishes  here  are  so 
different  from  ours  that  it  is  a  wonder.  Some 
look  like  cocks  of  the  finest  colors  in  the  world, 
blue,  yellow,  red  and  all  colors,  and  others  vari 
egated  in  a  thousand  fashions ;  their  different 
hues  being  so  exquisite  that  nobody  can  con 
template  them  without  wondering,  and  feeling 
great  delight  in  seeing  them.(2)  There  are  also 
whales  here:  but  on  shore  I  saw  no  beasts 
whatever,  save  parrots  and  lizzards;  a  young 
man  told  me  that  he  had  seen  a  large  snake. 
No  sheep  nor  goats  nor  any  other  beast  did  I 
see ;  although  I  have  only  stopped  half  a  day 
I  could  not  fail  in  seeing  some,  should  there  be 
any.  When  I  shall  have  sailed  around  this  isl 
and  I  will  describe  its  coast." 

Wednesday  October  Ilth. 
At  midday  I  left  the  village  where  I  had 
anchored  and  taken  in  water,  in  order  to  sail 
around  this  island  of  Fernandina,  the  wind  was 
southwest  and  south;  and  as  my  wish  was  to 
follow  the  coast  of  the  island  where  I  was  to  the 
southeast,  because  it  all  runs  to  the  north-north 
west  and  south-southeast,  and  I  desired  to  take 
the  said  route  of  south  and  south-east,  because 
that  part  all  these  Indians  whom  I  have 
on  board  and  another  from  whom  I  received 
signs  in  this  part  of  the  south  on  the  island 
which  they  call  Samoet,  [is]  where  the  gold  is; 
and  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon,  cjiptain  of  the  cara 
vel  Pinta,  into  which  I  sent  three  of  these  In 
dians,  came  to  me  and  said  that  one  of  them 
had  very  positively  given  him  to  understand 
that  I  should  round  the  island  much  the  quick 
est  by  the  north-northwest.  1  saw  that  the 
wind  was  not  favorable  to  my  intended  course, 

(')  The  flora  which  Columbus  saw  has  probably  disap 
peared  before  the  reckless  firing  aud  wasteful  cultivation 
which  characterizes  the  agriculture  of  the  Bahamas. 
There  are,  however,  now  found  there,  besides  the  Epi 
phytes  or  air  plants,  many  of  a  parasitic  nature  and  I  \vu, 
Wild  fig  (Ficus  pedunculata)  and  Scotch  attorney  (cluxcn 
rosea)  which,  springing  from  chance  seed  lodged  in  the 
branches  of  trees  throw  their  roots  to  the  ground  and 
join  their  foliage  as  if  belonging  to  the  same  trunk. 

(2)  This  vivid  description  applies  to  the  fishes  which 
are  now  found  on  the  Bahama  banks. 


21 


le  vi  que  era  boca  de  algun  rio  habia  mandado 
llevar  barriles  para  tomar  agua,  y  en  tierra 
halle  unos  oeho  6  diez  hoinbres  que  luego  vinie- 
ron  a  nos,  y  nos  amostraron  alii  cerca  la  pobla- 
cion,  adonde  yo  en  vie  la  gente  por  agua,  una 
pane  con  armas  otros  con  barriles,  y  asi  la  to- 
maron;  y  porque  era  lejuelos  me  detuve  por 
espacio  de  dos  boras.  En  este  tiempo  anduve 
asi  por  aquellos  arboles,  que  era  la  cosa  mas 
fermosa  de  ver  que  otra  que  se  haya  visto; 
veycndo  tanta  verdura  en  tant-o  grado  como  en 
el  mes  de  Mayo  en  el  Andalucia,  y  los  arboles 
todos  estan  tan  disformes  de  los  nuestros  como 
el  dia  de  la  noche;  y  asi  las  frutas,  y  asi  las 
yerbas  y  las  piedras  y  todas  las  cosas.  Verdad 
es  que  algunos  arboles  eran  de  la  naturaleza  de 
otros  que  bay  en  Castilla,  por  ende  habia  muy 
gran  diferencia,  y  los  otros  arboles  de  otras 
maneras  eran  tantos  que  no  bay  persona  que  lo 
pueda  decir  ui  asemejar  a  otros  de  Castilla.  La 
gente  toda  era  una  con  los  otros  ya  dicbos,  de 
las  inismas  condiciones,  y  asi  desnudos  y  de  la 
misma  estatura,  y  daban  de  lo  que  tenian  por 
cualquiera  cosa  que  lea  diesen ;  y  aqui  vide  que 
unos  mozos  de  los  navios  les  trocarou  azagayas 
por  unos  pedazuelos  de  escudillas  rotas  y  de 
vidrio,  y  los  otros  que  fuerou  por  el  agua  me 
dijeron  como  babian  estado  en  sus  casas,  y  que 
emu  de  deutro  muy  barridas  y  limpias,  y  sus 
camas  y  paranieutos  de  cosas  que  son  coino 
redes  de  algodoi^1) :  ellas  las  casas  son  todas  a 
manera  de  alfaneques,  y  muy  altas  y  buenas 
cbimeneas(2) ;  mas  no  vide  entre  niucbas  po- 
blaciones  que  yo  vide  ninguna  que  pasase  de 
doce  basta  quince  casas.  Aqui  fallaron  que  las 
inugeres  casadas  traian  bragas  do  algodon,  las 
mozas  no,  sino  salvo  algunas  qne  eran  ya  de 
edad  de  diez  y  ocbo  afios.  Y  ahi  babia  perros 
mastines  y  brancbetes,  y  abi  fallaron  uno  que 
babia  al  nariz  uii  pedazo  de  oro  que  seria  como 
la  mitad  de  un  castellano,  en  el  cual  vieron 
letras :  refii  yo  con  ellos  porque  no  se  lo  resga- 
taron  y  dieron  cuanto  pedia,  por  ver  que  era  y 
cuya  esta  moiieda  era ;  y  ellos  me  respondierou 
que  nunca  se  lo  oso  resgatar.  Despues  de  to- 
mada  la  agua  volvf  a  la  nao,  y  di  la  vela,  y  sali 
al  Xorueste  tan  to  que  yo  descubri  toda  aquella 
parte  de  la  isla  basta  la  costa  que  se  corre 
Leste  Oueste,  y  despues  todos  estos  indios  tor- 

(1)  I,  lain  a  use  Hamacas. 

(2)  Estas  chimeneas  no  son  para  humeros,   siuo  iiuas 
coronillas  que  tienen  encima  las  casas  de  paja  de  los  In 
dios.     For  esto  lo  dice,  puesto  que  dejan  abierto  por 
arriba  algo  para  que  saiga  el  huino.     Casas. 


and  was  to  tbe  otber:  so  I  sailed  to  tbe  north  - 
nortb  west,  and  when  I  was  near  the  end  of  tbe 
island,  two  leagues  off,  I  found  a  very  marvel 
lous  port  with  an  entrance,  although  it  may  be 
said  that  there  are  two  entrances,  because  it 
has  a  rocky  islet  in  the  middle,  and  both  are 
very  narrow,  but  within  it  there  is  ample  room 
for  one  hundred  ships,  if  it  had  sufficient  depth 
of  water,  and  was  clear,  and  had  also  a  deep 
entrance :  I  thought  it  worth  while  to  examine 
and  sound  it,  and  so  I  anchored  outside  of  it, 
and  went  in  with  all  tbe  boats  of  the  ships,  and 
saw  that  there  was  not  bottom.  And  because 
I  thought  when  I  saw  it  that  it  was  the  mouth 
of  some  river  I  bad  tbe  casks  sent  on  shore  for 
water,  and  on  shore  I  found  eight  or  ten  men 
who  soon  approached  us,  and  showed  us  tbe 
village  near  by,  to  which  I  sent  my  men  for 
water,  some  armed,  and  others  with  the  casks, 
and  thus  they  got  it ;  and  because  it  was  rather 
far  I  was  detained  for  the  space  of  two  hours. 
During  this  time  I  walked  among  those  trees, 
which  were  the  most  beautiful  things  that  were 
ever  seen;  so  much  verdure  being  visible  and  in 
|  as  high  a  degree  as  in  the  month  of  May  in  Au- 
dalucia,  and  all  these  trees  as  different  from 
ours  as  day  is  from  night ;  the  same  was  the 
case  with  the  fruits,  grass  stones  and  all  things. 
It  is  true  that  some  trees  were  of  the  same  fam 
ily  as  others  in  Castile,  however  there  was  a 
very  great  difference,  and  the  other  trees  of 
other  kinds  were  so  many  that  there  is  no  per 
son  that  can  compare  them  to  others  in  Castile. 
The  people  were  all  like  those  aforementioned, 
they  have  the  same  dispositions,  go  about  naked 
and  are  of  the  same  size,  and  gave  of  what  they 
bad  for  anything  that  was  given  to  them ;  and 
here  I  saw  that  some  young  men  of  the  vessels 
obtained  spears  from  them  for  some  little  pieces 
of  broken  crockery  and  glass,  the  men  I  sent 
for  water  told  us  that  tbe  bouses  which  they 
had  entered  were  well  swept  and  perfectly 
clean,  and  that  their  beds  and  coverings  looked 
like  cotton  nets:(l)  the  bouses  are  like  tents, 
very  high  and  have  good  chimneys  ;(2)  but 
among  the  many  villages  which  I  saw  none 
had  over  twelve  or  fifteen  houses.  Here  they 
found  that  the  married  women  wore  cotton 

(')  Which  they  called  Hamacas.  Nararretc.  This  is 
th<;  first  mention  of  the  hammock. 

(2)  These  are  not  chimneys  for  emitting  smoke  but  are 
crowus  on  top  of  the  straw  huts,  he  called  them  chim 
neys  because  something  is  left  open  on  top  in  order  that 
the  smoke  may  get  out.  Casas. 


22 


naron  11  decir  quo  esta  isla  era  mas  pequefia 
que  no  la  isla  Samoet,  y  que  seria  bien  volvcr 
atras  por  ser  en  ella  uias  presto.  El  viento  alii 
luego  mas  calmo  y  coinenzo  a  ventar  Onesnoru- 
cste,  elTiual  era  contrario  para  donde  habiainos 
venido,  y  asi  tome  la  vuelta  y  navegue  toda  esta 
noche  pasada  al  Lestesueste,  y  cuando  al  Leste 
todo  y  enando  al  Sueste;  y  esto  para  apartarme 
de  la  tierra  porque  hacia  muy  gran  cerrazou  y  el 
tiempo  muy  cargado:  el  era  poco  y  no 'me  dejo 
llegar  a  tierra  a  snrgir.  Asi  que  esta  noclie 
llovio  muy  fuerte  despues  de  media  noclie  hasta 
cuasi  el  dia,  y  aim  esta  nublado  para  Hover ;  y 
nos  al  cabo  de  la  isla  de  la  partc  del  Sueste 
adonde  espero  surgir  fasta  que  aclare/ca  para 
ver  las  otras  islas  adonde  tengo  de  ir;  y  asi 
todos  estos  dias  despues  que  en  estas  Indias 
estoy  ha  llovido  poco  6  muclio.  Crean  vue.stras 
Altezas  que  es  esta  tierra  la  mejor  e  mas  fertil, 
y  temperada,  y  liana,  y  buena  que  haya  en  el 
mundo." 


Jucves  18  de  Octulrc. 

„  Despues  que  aclarescio  segui  el  viento,  y 
fui  en  derredor  de  la  isla  cnaiito  pude,  y  surgf 
al  tiempo  que  ya  no  era  de  navegar;  mas  no 
fui  en  tierra,  y  en  ainaneciendo  di  la  vela." 

Yicnics  19  fie  Octitbre. 

,,En  ainaneciendo  levantd  las  anclas  y  emir 
la  carabela  Pinta  al  Leste  y  Sueste  y  la  cara- 
bela  Nina  al  Sursueste,  y  yo  con  la  nao  i'ni  al 
Sueste,  y  dado  orden  que  llevasen  aquella 
vuelta  t'a.sta  niedio  dia,  y  despues  que  ambas  se 
mudasen  las  derrotas  y  se  recogieran  para  mi; 
y  luego  antes  que  andasemos  tres  boras  vimos 


breeches,  the  young  girls  not,  except  a  lew  who 
were  already  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years. 
And  they  had  there  dogs  mastines(l)  and  bran- 
ehetes,(2)  and  here  they  found  one  wearing  in 
his  nose  a  piece  of  gold  of  the  size  of  half  a 
castillano,(:!)  on  which  they  saw  letters:  I 
scolded  them  for  not  having  got  it  by  giving 
whatever  he  asked,  in  order  to  see  what  it  was 
and  if  coin  whose  coin  it  was;  but  they  an 
swered  that  he  did  not  dare  to  barter  it.  After 
getting  in  water  I  returned  to  the  ship,  and  set 
sail,  and  sailed  to  the  northwest  until  I  discov 
ered  all  that  part  of  the  island  as  far  as  the 
coast  which  runs  east  [and]  west,  and  after 
wards  these  Indians  again  said  that  this  island 
was  smaller  than  the  island  of  tfanwet,  and  that 
it  would  be  well  to  go  back  as  we  would  thus. 
reach  it  sooner.  The  wind  then  ceased  and 
then  sprang  np  from  west-northwest,  which 
was  contrary  to  our  course,  and  so  1  turned 
around  and  sailed  all  the  past  night  to  the  east- 
southeast,  and  sometimes  wholly  east,  and  some 
times  to  the.  southeast  ;  this  1  did  in  order  to 
keep  oft'  the  land  for  the  atmosphere  was  very 
misty  and  the  weather  threatening:  it  [the  wind  | 
was  light  and  did  not  permit  me  to  reach  the 
land  in  order  to  anchor.  So  that  this  night  it 
rained  very  hard  after  midnight  until  almost 
day.  and  is  still  cloudy  in  order  to  rain  ;  and  we 
[are]  at  the  southeast  cape  of  the  island  where 
1  hope  to  anchor  until  it  gets  clear  in  order  to 
see  the  other  islands  where  I  have  to  go;  ever 
since  I  came  to  these  Indies  it  has  been  raining 
much  or  little.  I  beg  your  Highnesses  to  be 
lieve  however  that  this  land  is  the  richest,  the 
mildest  in  temperature,  and  the  most  level  and 
wholesome  in  the  world.'7 

Thursday  October  ISM. 

"After  it  cleared  up  I  followed  the  wind,  and 
went  around  the  island  as  much  as  I  cquld,  and 
I  anchored  when  it  was  no  longer  possible  to 
sail;  but  I  did  not  go  on  shore,  and  at  dawn  I 
set  sail." 

Friday,  October  19M. 

"At  dawn  I  weighed  anchor  and  sent  the 
caravel  Pinta  to  the  cast  and  southeast  and 
the  caravel  Nifia  to  the  south-southeast,  and  I 


(')  Mustincs — mastil)'. 

(*)  Brnnchi'tos — proluilily  a  .smiting  dog. 
(;i)  One  castillano  of  gold  equal  to  H.iif,  ;  ;r.     Irring'x 
Columbus,  revised  edition,     J848.    Note.     Vol.  JJ,  p,  49. 


23 


una  isla  al  Leste,  sobre  la  cual  descargamos,  y 
llegamos  a  ella  todos  tres  navios  antes  de  meclio 
dia  a  la  puuta  del  Xorte,  adoude  liace  1111  isleo 
y  una  restinga  de  piedra  fuera  de  el  al  Xorte,  y 
otro  outre  el  y  la  isla  grande;  la  cual  anornbra- 
ron  estos  liombres  de  San  Salvador,  que  yo 
traigo,  la  isla  Saoniete,  a  la  cual  puse  noinbre 
la  Isabela(l).  El  viento  era  Xorte,  y  quedaba  el 
dicho  isleo  en  derrota  de  la  isla  Fernandina,  de 
adonde  yo  liabia  partido  Leste  oueste,  y  se  cor- 
ria  despnes  la  costa  desde  el  isleo  al  Oueste,  y 
liabia  en  ella  doce  leguas  fasta  un  cabo,  a  quien 
yo  llanie  el  Cabo  hermoso,  que  es  de  la  parte 
del  Oueste;  y  asi  es  ferinoso,  redoudo  y  muy 
fondo,  sin  bajas  fnera  de  el,  y  al  comienzo  es  de 
piedra  y  bajo,  y  mas  adentro  es  pi  ay  a  de  arena 
como  cuasi  la  dieha  costa  es,  y  alii  surgi  esta 
noche  Yiernes  hasta  la  mafiana.  Esta  costa 
toda,  y  la  parte  de  la  isla  que  yo  vi,  es  toda 
cuasi  playa,  y  la  isla  mas  fermosa  cosa  que  yo 
vi;  que  si  las  otras  son  muy  liermosas,  esta  es 
mas:  es  de  muclios  arboles  y  muy  verdes,  y 
muy  grandes;  y  esta  tierra  es  mas  alta  que  las 
otras  islas  falladas,  y  en  ella  algun  altillo,  no 
qne  se  le  pueda  llamar  montana,  mas  cosa  que 
afermosea  lo  otro,  y  parece  de  muclias  aguas 
alia  al  medio  de  la  isla;  de  esta  parte  al  Xor- 
deste  hace  una  grande  angla,  y  ha  muclios 
arboledos,  y  muy  espesos  y  inuy  grandes.  Yo 
quise  ir  a  surgir  en  ella  para  salir  a  tierra,  y  ver 
tanta  fermosura;  mas  era  el  fondo  bajo  y  no 
podia  surgir  salvo  largo  de  tierra,  y  el  viento 
era  muy  bueno  para  venir  a  este  cabo,  adonde 
yo  surgi  agora,  al  cual  puse  nombre  Cabo  Fer- 
moso,  porq'ue  asi  lo  es;  y  asi  no  surgi  en  aquella 
angla,  y  aim  porque  vide  este  cabo  de  alia  tan 
verde  y  tan  ferinoso,  asi  como  todas  las  otras 
cosas  y  tierras  destas  islas  que  yo  no  se  adonde 
me  vaya  primero,  ni  me  se  cansar  los  ojos  de 
ver  tan  fermosas  verduras  y  tan  diversas  de  las 
nuestras,  y  aim  creo  que  ha  en  ellas  muchas 
yerbas  y  muchos  arboles,  que  valen  inucho  en 
Espana  para  tiiituras  y  para  mediciuas  de  es- 
peceria,  mas  yo  no  los  cognozco,  de  qne  llevo 
grande  pena.  Y  llegando  yo  aqui  a  este  cabo 
vino  el  olor  tan  bueno  y  suave  de  flores  6  ar 
boles  de  la  tierrra  que  era  la  cosa  mas  dulce  del 
mundo.  De  manaua  antes  que  yo  de  aqui  vaya 
ire  en  tierra  a  A'er  que  es  aqui  en  el  cabo;  no  es 
la  poblacion  salvo  alia  mas  adeutro  adoude  di- 

(')  Pai'ece  qne  la  Isalida  corrcsponde  a  la  isla  qne  nliora 
so  conoce  con  el  noinbre  do  Inagua  grande,  y  los  indios 
llamaban  Saometo. 


with  the  ship  went  to  the  southeast,  having 
given  orders  that  they  should  keep  that  course 
until  midday,  and  then  that  both  should  change 
their  course  and  return  to  me;  and  then  before 
we  had  gone  three  hours  we  saw  an  island  to 
the  east,  to  which  we  directed  our  course,  and 
all  the  three  vessels  reached  it  before  midday 
at  its  northern  extremity,  where  there  is  a  rocky 
islet  and  a  ridge  of  rocks  outside  it  to  the  north, 
and  another  between  it  and  the  large  island; 
which  the  men  of  San  Salvador,  that  I  brought 
'  with  me,  called  Saometo,  to  which  I  gave  the 
name  of  la  Isabcla.  The  wind  was  north,  and 
the  said  islet  lay  from  the  island  of  Fernandina, 
whence  I  had  come  east  [and]  west,  and  the 
coast  afterwards  ran  from  the  rocky  islet  to  the 
westward,  and  there  was  in  it  twelve  leagues 
as  far  as  a  cape,  which  I  called  Cape  Beautiful, 
which  is  in  the  west;  and  so  it  is  beautiful, 
round  and  [the  water?]  very  deep  and  free 
from  shoals,  at  first  it  is  rocky  and  low,  but 
farther  in  it  is  a  sandy  beach  as  it  is  along  most 
of  the  coast,  and  it  is  here  that  I  have  to-night 
Friday,  anchored  until  morning.  This  coast  all, 
and  the  part  of  the  island  that  I  saw,  is  nearly 
all  a  beach,  and  the  island  the  most  beautiful 
thing  I  have  seen;  if  the  others  are  very  beau 
tiful  this  is  still  more  so:  it  has  many  trees 
very  green,  and  very  large;  and  this  land  is 
higher  than  that  of  the  other  islands  I  have 
discovered,  although  it  cannot  be  called  moun 
tainous,  yet  gentle  hills  enhance  with  their  con 
trasts  the  beauty  of  the  plain,  and  there  appears 
to  be  much  water  in  the  middle  of  the  island; 
northeast  of  this  cape  there  is  an  extensive 
promontory,  and  there  are  many  groves,  very 
thick  and  very  large.  I  wished  to  anchor  oft'  it 
in  order  to  land,  and  visit  so  handsome  a  spot; 
but  it  was  shallow  and  I  could  not  anchor  ex 
cept  far  from  land,  and  the  wind  was  very 
favorble  to  come  to  this  cape,  where  I  have  now 
anchored,  and  which  I  have  called  Cape  Beauti 
ful,  because  it  is  so;  and  so  I  did  not  anchor  off 
that  promontory,  because  I  saw  this  cape  so 
green  and  so  beautiful,  as  are  all  the  other 
things  and  lands  of  these  islands  so  that  I  do 
not  know  to  which  to  go  first,  nor  do  my  eyes 
grow  tired  with  looking  at  such  beautiful  verd 
ure,  so  different  from  our  own,  and  I  even  be 
lieve  that  among  it  there  are  many  grasses  or 
herbs,  and  many  trees  which  would  be  of  great 
value  in  Spain  for  dyes  and  medicines,  but  I 
do  not  know  them,  which  I  greatly  regret.  And 


24 


cen  estos  hombres  que  yo  traigo,  que  esta  el 
Key  y  que  trae  mucho  oro;  y  yo  de  man ana 
quiero  ir  tanto  avante  que  halle  la  poblaciou,  y 
vea  6  hay  a  lengua  coii  este  Key,  que  segim  estos 
dan  las  senas  e"l  seuorea  todas  estas  islas  comar- 
eanas,  y  va  vestido,  y  trae  sobre  si  mucho  oro; 
aunque  no  doy  ruucha  fe  a  sus  decires,  asi  por 
no  los  entender  yo  bien,  como  en  cognoscer 
()iiellos  son  tan  pobres  de  oro  que  cualquiera 
poco  que  este  Key  traiga  les  parece  ft  ellos  mu 
cho.  Este  a  quien  yo  digo  Cabo  Fermoso  creo 
que  es  isla  apartada  de  Saometo,  y  aim  hay  \  a 
otra  eutremedias  pequeiia:  yo  no  euro  asi  de 
ver  tanto  por  meuudo,  porque  no  lo  podia  facer 
en  cincuenta  aiios,  porque  quiero  ver  y  descubrir 
lo  inas  que  yo  pudiere  para  volver  a  vuestras 
Altezas,  a  nuestro  Seiior  aplaciendo,  en  Abril. 
Verdad  es  que  fallaudo  adonde  haya  oro  6  espe- 
ceria  en  cantidad  ine  deterue  fasta  que  yo  haya 
dello  cuanto  pudiere ;  y  por  esto  no  f ago  siuo 
andar  para  ver  de  topar  en  ello." 


Sabado  20  de  Octubre. 

,,Hoy  al  sol  salido  levante  las  anclas  de 
donde  yo  estaba  con  la  nao  surgido  en  esta  isla 
de  Saometo  al  cabo  del  Sudueste,  adonde  yo 
puse  nombre  el  Cabo  de  la  Laguna  y  ft  la  isla  la 
Isabela,  para  navegar  al  Nordeste  y  al  Leste  de 
la  parte  del  Sueste  y  Sur,  adonde  entendi  de 
estos  hombres  que  yo  traigo  que  era  la  poblaciou 
y  el  Key  de  ella;  y  falle  todo  tan  bajo  el  fondo 
que  no  pude  entrar  ni  navegar  ft  ello,  y  vide 
que  siguiendo  el  cainino  del  Sudueste  era  muy 
gran  rodeo,  y  por  esto  determine  de  me  volver 
por  el  camino  que  yo  habia  traido  del  Xornord- 
este  de  la  parte  del  Oueste,  y  rodear  esta  isla 
para(')  el  viento  me  fue  tan  escaso  que  yo  no 
nunca  pude  haber  la  tierra  al  longo  de  la  costa 
salvo  en  la  noche;  y  por  ques  peligro(2)  surgir 
en  estas  islas,  salvo  en  el  dia  que  se  vea  con  el 
ojo  adonde  se  echa  el  ancla,  porque  es  todo 
manchas,  una  de  limpio  y  otra  de  non,  yo  me 

(')  Igual  vacio  en  el  original.   Parece  falta  reconoctrla. 
(*)  Asi  el  original :  parece  ha  de  docir  peligroso. 


when  I  reached  this  cape  the  odor  came  so 
good  and  sweet  from  flowers  or  trees  on  the 
laud  that  it  was  the  sweetest  thing  in  the 
world.  To-morrow  before  leaving  here  I  will  go 
on  shore  to  see  what  there  is  on  this  cape;  there 
is  no  population  except  farther  inland  where 
according  to  the  information  received  from  these 
men  whom  I  have  on  board,  their  king  lives 
and  has  much  gold ;  I  intend  to  proceed  to-mor 
row  until  I  find  the  population,  and  see  or  con 
verse  with  this  king,  who,  according  to  the 
signs  made  by  these  men  is  master  of  all  these 
neighboring  islands,  and  goes  clothed,  and 
wears  much  gold  on  his  person ;  although  I 
place  little  confidence  in  their  assertions,  both 
because  I  do  not  understand  well  and  because 
I  see  that  they  are  so  poor  in  gold  that  any 
small  quantity  worn  by  this  King  would  seem 
to  them  to  be  a  great  deal.  I  believe  that  this 
Cape  Beautiful  is  a  separate  island  from  Saomcto, 
and  even  that  there  is  another  small  one  be 
tween:  for  that  reason  I  do  not  care  to  examine 
so  much  in  detail,  because  I  could  not  do  it  in 
fifty  years,  because  I  desire  to  see  and  discover 
the  most  that  I  can,  in  order  to  return  to  your 
Highnesses,  God  willing,  in  April.  It  is  true 
that  I  will  stop  wherever  I  may  find  gold  or 
spices  in  large  quantities  and  get  as  much  of 
each  as  possible;  I  am  constantly  sailing  in 
order  to  find  some." 

Saturday,  October  20th. 

"At  sunrise  I  weighed  anchor  from  the  place 
where  I  was  with  the  vessel  anchored  at  this 
island  of  Saometo  at  the  southwest  cape,  which 
I  named  the  Cape  of  the  Lagoon  and  I  called  the 
island  la  Isabela,  in  order  to  sail  to  the  north 
east  and  to  the  east  towards  the  southeast  and 
south,  where  I  understood  from  these  men  whom 
I  have  with  me  that  the  population  and  their 
king  were;  and  so  I  found  the  bottom  so  shallow 
that  I  could  not  enter  or  sail  to  it,  and  I  saw 
that  by  following  a  southwestern  route  it  would 
be  a  long  way  around,  and  consequently  I  de 
termined  to  return  by  the  course  I  had  come 
from  the  north-northeast  toward  the  west,  and 
to  go  around  this  island  in  order  (])  The 

wind,  however,  was  so  scant  that  I  was  never 
able  to  have  the  land  along  the  coast  except  at 
night;  and  because  it  is  dangerous  to  anchor 
among  these  islands,  save  in  the  day-time  when 

(')  A  Wank  in  the  original,  probably  to  reconuoiter  it. 
Navarrete. 


25 


ptise  a  tempoivjar  a  la  vela  toda  esta  uocbe  del 
Domingo.  Las  carabelas  surgieron  porque  se 
hallarou  en  tierra  temprano,  y  pensaron  que  a 
sus  seiias,  que  eran  costuinbradas  de  hacer,  iria 
a  surgir;  urns  no  quise." 


Domingo  21  de  Octubre. 
,,  A  las  diez  horas  llegue  aqui  a  este  cabo  del 
isleo,  y  stirgi  y  asimismo  las  carabelas;  y  des- 
pues  de  haber  eomido  fui  en  tierra,  adonde  aqui 
no  habia  otra  poblaciou  que  una  easa,  en  la  cual 
no  falle  4  nadie  que  creo  que  con  temor  se 
liabian  fugido  porque  en  ella  estaban  todos  sus 
aderezos  de  casa.  Yo  no  les  dej6  tocar  nada, 
salvo  que  me  sali  con  estos  capitanes  y  gente  a 
ver  la  isla;  que  si  las  otras  ya  vistas  son  nmy 
fermosas  y  verdes  y  fertiles,  esta  es  inucho  mas 
y  de  grandes  arboledos  y  niuy  verdes.  Aqui  es 
uuas  grandes  lagunas,  y  sobre  ellas  y  a  la  rueda 
es  el  arboledo  en  maravilla,  y  aqui  y  en  toda  la 
isla  son  todos  verdes  y  las  yerbas  como  en  el 
Abril  en  el  Andalucia ;  y  el  cantar  de  los  paja- 
ritos  que  parece  que  el  koinbre  nunca  se  querria 
partir  de  aqui,  y  las  manadas  de  los  papagayos 
que  ascurecen  el  sol;  y  aves  y  pajaritos  de  tan- 
tas  maneras  y  tan  diversas  de  las  nuestras  que 
es  maravilla;  y  despues  ha  drboles  de  mil  ma 
neras,  y  todos  de  su  manera  fruto,  y  todos 
liuelen  que  es  maravilla,  que  yo  estoy  el  mas 
peuado  del  muudo  de  no  los  cognoscer,  porque 
soy  bien  cierto  que  todos  son  cosa  de  valia,  y 
de  ellos  traigo  la  deniuestra,  y  asimismo  de  las 
yerbas.  Andando  asi  en  cerco  de  una  destas 
lagunas  vide  una  sierpe('),  la  cual  inatamos  y 
traigo  el  cuero  4  vuestras  Altezas.  Ella  como 
nos  vido  se  echo  en  la  laguna,  y  nos  le  seguimos 
dentro,  porque  no  era  nmy  fonda,  fasta  que  con 
lanzas  la  matamos;  es  de  siete  palmos  en  largo; 
creo  que  destas  semejantes  hay  aqui  en  esta 
laguna  muchas.  Aqui  cognosci  del  linaloe,  y 
mauana  he  deterniiuado  de  hacer  traer  a  la  nao 
diez  quiu tales,  porque  me  dicen  que  vale  mucho. 
Tainbien  andaudo  en  busca  de  muy  buena  agua 
fuimos  a  una  poblacion  aqui  cerca,  adonde  estoy 
surto  media  legua;  y  la  gente,  della  conio  nos 
sintieron  dieron  todos  a  fugir,  y  dejaron  las 
casas,  y  escondierou  su  ropa  y  lo  que  tenian  por 
el  nionte;  yo  no  deje  tomar  nada  ni  la  valia  de 
un  alfiler.  Despues  se  llegaron  a  nos  unos 
honibres  de'llos,  y  uno  se  llego  del  todo  aqui: 

(')  Ytiana  (Iguana)  debio  de  ser  esta.     Casas. 
App.  18 4 


one  sees  with  the  eye  where  the  anchor  is  cast, 
because  it  is  all  spots,  one  clean  the  other  not, 
I  stood  off  and  on  all  this  night  of  Sunday. 
The  caravels  anchored  because  they  reached 
the  land  early,  and  thought  that  I  would  do  the 
same  at  sight  of  their  customary  signals ;  but  I 
did  not  wish  to." 

Sunday  October  2 1st. 

"At  ten  o'clock  I  arrived  here  at  this  end  of 
the  rocky  islet,  and  I  anchored  as  did  the 
caravels ;  and  after  taking  my  dinner  I  went  on 
shore,  I  found  there  only  a  house,  in  which  I 
found  no  person  and  I  believe  that  they  had 
fled  through  fear  because  all  their  household 
goods  were  there.  I  did  not  allow  them  to 
touch  anything,  except  that 'I  went  with  the 
captains  and  men  to  see  the  island ;  if  the  others 
appeared  beautiful,  green,  and  fertile,  this  one 
with  its  majestic  and  luxuriant  forests  surpasses 
them  all.  Here  are  some  large  lagoons,  and 
around  them  are  the  trees  so  that  it  is  a  marvel, 
and  here  and  throughout  the  island  they  are 
all  green  and  the  grass  is  like  it  is  in  April  in 
Andalucia;  and  the  songs  of  the  little  birds  so 
that  it  seems  as  if  a  man  could  never  leave 
here,  and  the  flocks  of  parrots  which  darken 
the  sun;  and  birds  and  little  birds  of  so  many 
kinds  and  so  different  from  ours  that  it  is  a 
marvel;  and  then  there  are  trees  of  a  thousand 
kinds,  all  bearing  fruit  of  their  own  kinds,  and 
all  smell  so  that  it  is  a  marvel,  so  that  I  felt  the 
greatest  regret  in  the  world  not  to  know  them, 
because  I  am  very  certain  that  they  are  all 
things  of  value,  and  I  bring  the  samples  of 
them,  and  also  of  the  grasses.  While  going 
around  one  of  these  lagoons  I  saw  a  serpent^) 
which  we  killed  and  I  bring  the  skin  to  your 
Highnesses.  When  it  saw 'us  it  plunged  into 
the  lagoon,  and  we  followed  it  in,  because  it 
was  not  very  deep,  until  we  killed  it  with  our 
lances;  is  of  seven  palmos (2)  in  length;  I  believe 

(')  This  should  be  Yiiana  (Iguana)  Casas. 

(2)  Library  of  Universal  Knowledge.  N.  Y.  1881.  Vol. 
XI,  p.  2?5.  Spanish  Palino  Major  is  given  as  8.3450 
inches,  English.  Spanish  Palino  Minor  is  given  as  2.7817 
inches,  English.  Either  of  these  dimensions  might  apply 
to  the  Ignaua,  but  in  Columbus's  letter  to  the  King  and 
Queen  concerning  his  fourth  voyage,  Navarrete,  p.  450, 
he  wrote  of  a  harbor  in  Veragua,  ''  bien  que  a"  la  eutrada 
no  teuio  salvo  diez  palmos  de  fondo."  He  used  the  same 
word,  "  palmos,"  for  the  depth  of  the  harbor's  entrance, 
as  he  used  for  the  length  of  the  Iguano.  As  neither  of 
the  above  dimensions  can  express  his  meaning  in  both 
quotations  I  leave  the  original  word,  palraos. 


26 


yo  di  unos  cascabeles  y  unas  cuentecillas  de 
vidrio,  y  quedo  muy  eoutento  y  muy  alegre,  y 
porque  la  amistad  creciese  mas  y  los  requiriese 
algo  le  liice  pedir  agua,  y  ellos  despues  que  fui 
en  la  nao  viuieron  luego  a  la  playa  con  sus  cala- 
bazas  llenas  y  folgaron  mucho  de  dtirnosla,  y 
yo  les  mand£  dar  otro  ramalejo  de  cuentecillas 
de  vidrio,  y  dijeroii  que  de  maiiana  verniaii  aca. 
Vo  queria  hinchir  aqui  toda  la  vasija  de  los 
navios  de  agua;  por  ende  si  el  tiempo  nie  da 
lugar  luego  me  partire  a  rodear  esta  isla  fasta 
que  yo  haya  lengua  con  este  Eey,  y  ver  si  puedo 
haber  de"!  el  oro  que  oyo  que  trae,  y  despues 
partir  para  otra  isla  grande  mucho,  que  creo 
que  debe  ser  Cipango,  segun  las  senas  que  me 
dan  estos  indios  que  yo  traigo,  a  la  cual  ellos 
llaman  Colba(l),  en  la  cual  dicen  que  ha  naos  y 
mareantes  muchos  y  muy  grandes,  y  de  esta 
isla  otra  que  llaman  Bosio(2)  que  tambien  dicen 
que"s  muy  grande,  y  a  las  otras  que  son  entre- 
medio  ver6  asi  de  pasada,  y  segun  yo  fallare 
recaudo  de  oro  6  especeria  determinare  lo  que 
he  de  facer.  Mas  todavia  tengo  determinado 
de  ir  a  la  tierra  firme  y  a  la  ciudad  de  Guisay, 
y  dar  las  cartas  de  vuestras  Altezas  al  Gran 
Can,  y  pedir  respuesta  y  venir  con  ella." 


Lunes  22  de  Octubre. 

,,Toda  esta  noche  y  hoy  estuve  aqui  aguar- 
dando  si  el  Key  de  aquf  6  otras  personas  traerian 
oro  6  otra  cosa  de  sustancia,  y  vinieron  muchos 
de  esta  gente,  semejautes  a  los  otros  de  las 
otras  islas,  asi  desnudos,  y  asi  pintados  dellos 
de  bianco,  dellos  de  Colorado,  dellos  de  prieto, 

(')  Parece  error  en  el  original  por  Cw&a,  como  se  com- 
prueba  raas  adelaute. 
(2)  Acaso  Bolrio,  como  dice  despues. 


that  there  are  many  like  this  in  this  lagoon. 
Here  I  found  the  aloe  tree,  and  as  I  have  been 
told  that  it  is  very  valuable  I  shall  to-morrow, 
have  ten  quintals  of  it  brought  to  the  ship. 
While  looking  for  good  water  we  went  to  a  vil 
lage,  distant  half  a  league  from  my  anchoring 
place;  and  the  people  fled  at  our  approach, 
abandoning  their  houses,  and  hiding  their  wear 
ing-apparel  and  what  they  had  in  the  woods; 
and  I  did  not  allow  them  to  take  anything  not 
even  the  value  of  a  pin.  Afterwards  some  of 
the  men  came  to  us,  and  one  came  quite  up  to 
us :  I  gave  him  some  little  bells  and  some  glass 
beads,  which  satisfied  and  gladdened  him  very 
much,  and  in  order  that  our  friendship  might 
increase  and  that  I  might  ask  something  of 
them  I  asked  for  some  water,  which  they  after 
I  had  gone  on  board  the  ship  brought  to  the 
beach  with  their  calabashes  filled,  and  were  very 
much  pleased  to  give  it  to  us,  I  had  them  pre 
sented  with  another  small  string  of  glass  beads, 
and  they  said  they  would  come  the  next  day. 
I  wanted  to  have  all  the  casks  in  the  ship  sup 
plied  with  water;  consequently  the  weather 
permitting  I  shall  sail  at  once  in  order  to  go 
until  I  get  an  interview  with  this  king,  to  see 
if  I  can  get  from  him  the  gold  which  I  hear  that 
he  wears,  and  afterwards  to  sail  for  another 
very  large  island,  which  I  think  must  be  Ci- 
panyo,  according  to  the  signs  given  me  by  those 
Indians  whom  I  have  on  board,  and  which  they 
called  Colba,(l)  and  where  they  say  there  are 
large  ships  and  many  merchants,  and  from  it  to 
another  island  named  Bosio(2)  which  they  also 
say  is  very  large,  taking  a  passing  notice  of 
others  between,  and  shaping  my  future  conduct 
in  accordance  with  the  quantities  of  gold  or 
spices  that  I  may  find.  I  have  also  decided  to 
go  to  the  mainland  to  the  city  of  Guisay,  pre 
sent  there  the  letters  of  your  Highnesses  to  the 
Grand  Khan,  ask  for  an  answer  and  come  away 
with  it." 

Monday  October  22d. 

"All  last  night  and  to  day  I  have  remained 
here  expecting  the  king  or  other  persons  to 
come  with  gold  or  some  other  valuable  things, 
many  of  these  people  came  naked,  like  those  of 
the  other  islands,  painted  some  white,  some 
red,  some  black,  and  so  on  in  many  ways.  They 


(')  It  seems  to  be  mistaken  for  Cuba  in  the  original,  as 
is  shown  further  on.     Casas. 
(-)  Perhaps  Hohio,  :is  he  calls  it  afterwards.     Casas. 


27 


v  asi  do  iniichas  maiieras.  Traian  a/agayas  y 
algtnios  ovillos  de  algodon  a  resgatar,  el  cual 
trocabau  aqui  con  algunos  marineros  por  peda 
zos  de  vidrio,  de  tazas  quebradas,  y  por  pedazos 
de  escudillas  de  barro.  Algunos  dellos  traiau 
algunos  pedazos  de  oro  colgado  al  nariz,  el  cual 
de  buena  gana  daban  por  un  cascabel  destos  de 
pie  de  gavilano  y  por  cuentecillas  de  vidrio: 
mas  es  tan  poco,  que  no  es  nada:  que  es  verdad 
que  cualquiera  poca  cosa  que  se  les  de  ellos 
tambien  tenian  a  gran  mara  villa  nuestra  venida, 
y  creian  que  eramos  venidos  del  cielo.  Tonia- 
mos  agua  para  los  navios  en  una  lagima  que 
aqui  esta  acerca  del  ccibo  del  isleo,  que  asi  la 
nombre";  y  en  la  dicha  laguna  Martin  Alonso 
Pinzon,  capitan  de  la  Pinta,  mato  otra  sierpe 
tal  como  la  otra  de  ayer  de  siete  palmos,  y  flee 
tomar  aqui  del  liualoe  cuanto  se  fallo." 

Maries  23  de  Octubre. 

» 

,,Quisiera  hoy  partir  para  la  isla  de  Cuba,  que 
creo  que  debe  ser  Cipango  segun  las  seiias  que 
dan  esta  gente  de  la  graudeza  della  y  riqueza, 
y  no  me  deterne"  mas  aquini(1)  esta  isla  al  rede- 
dor  para  ir  a  la  poblacion,  como  tenia  determi- 
nado,  para  haber  lengua  con  este  Key  6  Seiior, 
que  es  por  no  me  detener  mucho,  pues  veo  que 
aqui  no  hay  mina  de  oro,  y  al  rodear  de  estas 
islas  ha  inenester  rnuchas  inaneras  de  viento,  y 
no  vieuta  asi  como  los  honibres  querrian.  Y 
pues  es  de  andar  adonde  haya  trato  graude, 
digo  que  no  es  razon  de  se  detener  salvo  ir  4 
camino,  y  calar  mucha  tierra  fasta  topar  en 
tierra  muy  provechosa,  aunque  mi  enteuder  es 
questa  sea  muy  provechosa  de  especeria;  mas 
que  yo  no  la  cognozco  que  llevo  la  mayor  pena 
del  immdo,  que  veo  mil  maneras  de  arboles  que 
tieneu  cada  uno  su  manera  de  fruta,  y  verde 
agora  como  en  Espaiia  en  el  mes  de  Mayo  y 
Junio,  y  mil  maneras  de  yerbas,  eso  mesmo  con 
tiores,  y  de  todo  no  se  cognoscio  salvo  este  lina- 
loe  de  que  hoy  mande"  tambien  traer  a  la  nao 
mucho  para  llevar  a  vuestras  Altezas.  Y  no  he 
dado  ni  doy  la  vela  para  Cuba,  porque  no  hay 
viento,  salvo  calma  muerta  y  llueve  mucho;  y 
llovio  ayer  mucho  sin  hacer  ningun  frio,  antes 
el  dia  hace  calor,  y  las  noches  temperadas  como 
en  Mayo  en  Espaiia  en  el  Andalucia." 


Igual  vacfo  en  el  original. 


brought  spears  and  some  balls  of  cottou  to 
barter,  which  they  exchanged  here  with  some 
sailors  for  pieces  of  glass,  broken  cups,  and 
pieces  of  earthenware.  Some  of  these  few  wore 
pieces  of  gold  in  their  noses,  which  they  gladly 
gave  away  for  a  small  bell  such  as  is  attached 
to  the  leg  of  a  hawk:(J)  but  it  is  so  little  that 
it  is  nothing:  it  is  true  that  for  any  little  thing 
that  was  given  them  they  marveled  greatly  at 
our  coming,  and  thought  that  we  had  come 
down  from  heaven.  We  took  water  for  the 
vessels  from  a  lagoon  which  is  near  to  the  Cape 
of  the  rocky  island,  so  named  by  me;  and  in  the 
said  lagoon  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon,  captain  of 
the  Pinta,  killed  another  serpent  like  that  of 
yesterday  of  seven  palmos,  I  caused  to  be  taken 
on  board  all  the  aloes  that  could  be  found." 

Tuesday  October  23d. 

u  I  should  like  to  sail  to  day  for  the  island  of 
Cuba,  which  from  the  description  about  its  size 
and  riches  given  by  these  people  I  infer  to  be 
Cipango,  I  will  not  stop  here  longer  nor(2) 
around  this  island  to  go  to  the  inhabited  portion, 
as  I  had  determined,  in  order  to  have  an  inter 
view  with  this  king  or  lord,  this  is  in  order 
not  to  stop  much,  because  I  see  that  there  is  no 
mine  of  gold  here,  and  to  go  around  these 
islands  requires  many  different  winds,  and  they 
do  not  blow  as  men  would  wish.  And  therefore 
the  most  important  thing  is  to  go  where  there 
is  a  great  trade,  I  say  that  it  is  not  right  to 
stop,  but  to  continue  on  one's  course  to  examine 
many  lands  until  one  reaches  some  very  profitable 
land,  although  my  idea  is  that  this  is  very  rich 
in  spices;  but  I  grieve  exceedingly  that  I  have 
no  knowledge  of  them,  because  I  see  a  thousand 
kinds  of  trees  having  each  one  its  own  kind  of 
fruit,  and  green  now  as  in  Spain  in  the  month 
of  May  and  Juue,  and  a  thousand  kinds  of 
herbs,  with  flowers,  of  all  of  which  none  was 
known  save  this  aloe  of  which  I  have  had 
quantities  brought  on  board  the  ship  for  your 
Highnesses.  And  I  have  not  sailed  nor  do  I 
sail  for  Cuba,  because  there  is  no  wind,  but  a 
dead  calm  and  much  rain ;  yesterday  it  also 
rained  much  yet  it  was  not  cold,  on  the  contrary 
it  is  warm  during  the  day,  and  the  nights  are 
as  mild  as  those  of  Andalucia  in  Spain  in  May.' 

(')  On  the  plains  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  the  Arabs 
use  hawks  for  hunting  purposes,  to  the  legs  of  which  are, 
sometimes,  fastened  small  bells.  Layard's  Nineveh  and 
Balylon,  p.  412. 

(*)  Blank  space  in  the  original.    Navarrete. 


28 


Miercoles  24  de  Octubre. 

,,Esta  iioche  a  media  iiocbe  levant^  las  anclas 
de  la  isla  Isabela  del  cabo  del  foleo,  ques  de  la 
parte  del  Norte  &  doude  yo  estaba  posado  para 
ir  a  la  isla  de  Cuba,  a  donde  oi  desta  gente  que 
era  muy  grande  y  de  gran  trato,  y  habia  en  ella 
oro  y  especerias  y  naos  grandes  y  mercaderes  5  y 
me  amostro  que  al  Ouesudueste  iria  a  ella,  y  yo 
asi  lo  tengo,  porque  creo  que  si  es  asi  corno  por 
senas  que  me  hicieron  todos  los  indios  de  estas 
islas  y  aquellos  que  llevo  yo  en  los  navios,  por 
que  por  lengua  no  los  entiendo,  es  la  isla  de 
Cipango  de  que  se  cuentan  cosas  maravillosas, 
y  en  las  esperas  que  yo  vi  y  en  las  pinturas  de 
mapamundos  es  ella  en  esta  comarca,  y  asi  nave- 
gue"  fasta  el  dia  al  Ouesudueste,  y  amaneciendo 
calmo  el  viento  y  Ilovi6,  y  asi  casi  toda  la 
noche ;  y  estuve  asi  con  poco  viento  fasta  que 
pasaba  de  medio  dia  y  entonces  torno  a  ventar 
muy  amoroso,  y  llevaba  todas  mis  velas  de  la 
nao,  maestra,  y  dos  bonetas,  y  trinquete,  y  ce- 
badera,  y  mezana,  y  vela  de  gavia,  y  el  batel 
por  popa ;  asi  anduve  al  camino  fasta  que  ano- 
checio  y  entonces  me  quedaba  el  Cabo  Verde  de 
la  isla  Fernandina,  el  cual  es  de  la  parte  de  Sur 
a  la  parte  de  Oueste,  me  quedaba  al  Norueste, 
y  hacia  de  mi  a.el  siete  leguas.  Y  porque  ven- 
taba  ya  recio  y  no  sabia  yo  cuanto  camino  ho- 
biese  fasta  la  dicha  isla  de  Cuba,  y  por  no  la  ir  a 
demandar  de  noche,  porque  todas  estas  islas  son 
muy  fond  as  a,  no  hallar  fondo  todo  en  derredor, 
salvo  a  tiro  de  dos  lombardas,  y  esto  es  todo 
manchado  un  pedazo  de  roquedo  y  otro  de 
arena,  y  por  esto  no  se  puede  seguramente  sur- 
gir  salvo  a  vista  de  ojo,  y  por  tanto  acorde"  de 
amainar  las  velas  todas,  salvo  el  trinquete,  y 
andar  con  61,  y  de  a  un  rato  crecia  mucho  el 
viento  y  hacia  raucho  camino  de  que  dudaba,  y 
era  muy  gran  cerrazon,  y  llovia :  mande  amai 
nar  el  trinquete  y  no  anduvimos  esta  noche  dos 
leguas  &c." 


Jueves  25  de  Octubre. 

Navego  despues  del  sol  salido  al  Oueste 
Sudueste  hasta  las  nueve  horas,  andarian  cin- 
co  leguas:  despues  mudo  el  camino  al  Oueste: 
andaban  ocho  millas  por  hora  hasta  la  uua 
despues  de  medio  dia,  y  de  alii  hasta  las  tres,  y 
andarian  cuarenta  y  cuatro  millas.  Entonces 


October  24th. 
11  At  midnight  I  weighed  anchor  from  the  isl 
and  of  Isabela  the  cape  of  the  rocky  'islet,  which 
is  on  the  northern  side  where  I  was  lying  in 
order  to  go  to  the  island  of  Cuba,  which  I  heard 
from  these  people  was  very  large,  having  much 
trade  and  that  there  was  in  it  gold  and  spices 
and  large  ships  and  merchants;  and  they  told 
me  that  I  should  go  to  it  by  the  west-southwest, 
and  so  I  think,  because  I  believe  that  if  it  is  as 
all  the  Indians  of  these  islands  and  those  whom 
I  have  on  board  told  me  by  signs,  because  I  do 
not  understand  their  language,  it  is  the  island 
of  Cipango  of  which  marvellous  things  are  re 
lated,  and  on  the  globes  which  I  have  seen  and 
on  the  maps  of  the  world  it  is  in  this  region, 
and  thus  I  sailed  until  day  to  the  west-south 
west,  and  at  dawn  the  wind  calmed  and  it 
rained,  and  so  almost  all  night ;  and  I  remained 
with  little  wind  until  after  midday  and  then  the 
wind  began  to  blow  very  lovely,  and  I  carried 
all  the  sails  of  the  ship,  the  mainsail,  two  bon 
nets,  the  foresail,  and  spritsail,  and  the  mizzen, 
and  the  main-topsail,  and  the  boat  astern;  thus 
I  followed  my  course  until  nightfall  and  then 
CapeVerde  of  the  island  of  Fernandina,  which  is 
towards  the  south  towards  the  west,  remained 
to  the  northwest  of  me,  and  there  was  from  me 
to  it  seven  leagues.^)  The  wind  was  blowing 
hard  and  I  knew  not  how  far  off  the  island  of 
Cuba  was,  and  in  order  not  to  approach  it  at 
night,  because  all  these  islands  are  so  deep  that 
no  bottom  can  be  found  all  around  them,  save 
at  two  lombard  shots,  and  this  is  all  spotted, 
one  piece  of  rock  another  of  sand,  and  conse 
quently  it  is  impossible  to  anchor  safely  except 
where  you  can  see,  and  therefore  I  determined 
to  lower  all  the  sails,  except  the  foresail,  and  to 
sail  with  that,  and  suddenly  the  wind  grew  very 
strong  and  I  made  much  headway  of  which  I 
was  doubtful,  and  it  was  very  misty,  and  rained : 
I  had  the  foresail  taken  in  and  we  did  not  go 
this  night  two  leagues,  &c." 


Thursday  October  25th. 

He  afterwards  sailed  from  sunrise  west-south 
west  until  nine  o'clock,  making  about  five 
leagues:  afterward  he  changed  course  to  the 
west :  they  went  eight  miles  an  hour  until  one 

(')  That  is,  Cape  Verde,  the  southwest endof  Fernaudiua, 
bore  northwest  seven  leagues  distant  (2/2.3  nautical  miles). 


29 


vieron  tierra,  y  erau  sicte  a  ocho  islas(]),  en 
1  uen  go  todas  de  Xorte  a  Sur :  distabau  de  cllas 
cinco  leguas  £c. 


Viernes  26  cle  Octubre. 

Estuvo  de  las  dicbas  islas  de  la  parte  del  Sur? 
era  todo  bajo  cinco  6  seis  leguas,  surgio  por  alii. 
Dijcron  los  indios  que  llevaba  que  babia  dellas 
ii  Cuba  andadura  de  dia  y  medio  con  sus  alma- 
dias,  que  SOD  navetas  de  un  madero  adonde  no 
llevan  vela.  Estas  son  las  canoas.  Partio  de 
alii  para  Cuba,  porque  por  las  sefias  que  los 
iudios  le  daban  de  la  grandeza  y  del  oro  y  per- 
las  della  pensaba  que  era  ella,  conviene  &  saber 
Cipanyo. 

Sabado  27  de  Octubre. 

Levanto  las  anclas  salido  el  sol  de  aquellas 
islas,  que  llamo  las  islas  de  Arena  por  el  poco 
fondo  que  tenian  de  la  parte  del  Sur  basta  seis 
leguas.  Auduvo  ocbo  millas  por  bora  basta  la 
uua  del  dia  al  Sursudueste,  y  babrian  andado 
cuarenta  millas,  y  basta  la  noche  andariaii 
veinte  y  ocbo  inillas  al  mesmo  camino,  y  antes 
de  nocbe  vieron  tierra.  Estuvieron  la  nocbe  al 
reparo  con  mucba  lluvia  que  llovio.  Anduvi- 
eron  el  Sabado  fasta  el  poner  del  sol  diez  y 
siete  leguas  al  Sursudueste. 

Domingo  28  de  Octubre. 

Fue  de  alii  en  demanda  de  la  isla  de  Cuba  al 
Sursudueste,  a  la  tierra  della  mas  cercana,  y 
entro  en  un  rio  muy  hermoso  y  muy  sin  peli- 
gro  de  bajas  ui  otros  inconvenientes,  y  toda  la 
costa  que  anduvo  por  alii  era  muy  bondo  y 
muy  limpio  fasta  tierra :  tenia  la  boca  del  rio 
doce  brazas,  y  es  bien  ancha  para  barloveutear; 
surgio  dentro,  diz  que  -A  tiro  de  lombarda.  Dice 
el  Almirante  que  nunca  tan  bermosa  cosa  vido, 
lleno  de  arboles  todo  cercado  el  rio,  fermosos  y 
verdes  y  diversos  de  los  nuestros,  con  flores  y 
con  su  fruto,  cada  tino  de  su  manera.  Aves 
muchas  y  pajaritos  que  cantaban  muy  dulce- 
mente:  babia  gran  cantidad  de  palmas  de  otra 
manera  que  las  de  Guinea  y  de  las  nuestras;  de 
una  estatura  mediana  y  los  pies  sin  aquella 

C1)  Deben  ser  los  Cayos  orientales  y  ineridionales  del 
Gran  Banco  de  Bahama,  que  despiden  placer  de  sonda  al 
Sur,  y  donde  estuvo  fondeado  Colon  el  dia  26  de  Octubre, 
partiendo  desde  alii  para  dar  vista  &  Cuba;  como  en 
efecto  la  vio  entrando  el  dia  -J8  eh  el  puerto  de  Nipe. 


o'clock  p.  in.,  and  tbence  until  tbrec  o'clock, 
and  they  made  about  forty-four  miles.  At  that 
time  they  saw  land,  and  there  were  seven  or 
eight  islands,  all  extending  from  north  to  south: 
distant  from  them  five  leagues,  &c. 

Friday  October  26th. 

He  was  on  the  southern  side  of  said  islands, 
all  was  shallow  for  five  or  six  leagues,  be  an 
chored  there.  The  Indians  he  had  with  him 
told  him  that  to  reach  Cuba  with  their  canoes 

• 

from  those  islands  would  take  them  a  day  and 
half,  these  canoes  are  small  vessels  of  one  piece 
of  wood  and  have  no  sail.  These  are  the  canoes. 
He  sailed  thence  for  Cuba,  because  from  the 
signs  which  the  Indians  gave  him  of  the  size 
and  of  its  gold  and  pearls  he  thought  that  was 
the  one,  that  is  to  say  Cipango. 

Saturday  October  2^th. 

At  sunrise  he  weighed  anchor  from  those  isl 
ands,  which  he  called  las  islas  de  Arena  [Sand 
Islands]  on  account  of  the  little  bottom  they 
had  for  six  leagues  to  the  south.  He  ran  south- 
southwest  at  the  rate  of  eight  miles  an  hour 
until  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  making  about 
forty  miles,  and  up  to  nightfall  they  had  made 
about  twenty-eight  miles  on  the  same  course, 
and  before  night  they  saw  the  land.  They  were 
on  the  lookout  during  the  night  with  much 
rain  which  it  rained.  They  ran  on  Saturday 
until  sunset  seventeen  leagues  south-southwest. 

Sunday  October  28th. 

He  went  thence  in  search  of  the  island  of 
Cuba  to  the  south-southwest,  to  the  land  near 
est  to  it  [him?],  and  entered  a  very  beautiful 
river  very  free  from  danger  of  shoals  and  other 
inconveniences,  and  all  the  coast  that  he  passed 
there  was  very  deep  and  very  clear  as  far  as 
the  land:  the  mouth  of  the  river  had  twelve 
fathoms,  and  is  very  wide  in  order  to  tack  in; 
he  anchored  within,  he  said  at  the  distance  of  a 
lombard  shot.  The  Admiral  says  that  he  never 
saw  such  a  beautiful  thing,  the  banks  of  the 
river  being  covered  with  trees,  which  were 
beautiful  and  green  and  different  from  ours, 
with  flowers  and  with  their  fruit,  each  one  after 
its  kind.  Many  birds  and  little  birds  which  sang 
very  sweetly:  there  was  a  great  quantity  of 
palms  different  from  those  of  Guinea  and  from 
ours;  of  medium  height  and  the  feet  without 
that  shirt,^)  and  the  leaves  very  large,  with 

(l)  He  probably  found  a  species  of  palm  that  was  with 
out  the  reticulnui. 


30 


cam  is:  i.  y  las  hojas  inuy  grandes,  eon  las  males 
cobijan  las  casas ;  la  tierra  muy  liana :  salto  el 
Almirante  eu  la  barca  y  fue  a  tierra.  y  llego  d 
dos  casas  que  creyo  ser  de  Pescadores  y  que  con 
temor  se  huyeron,  en  una  de  las  cuales  hallo  un 
perro  que  nuuca  ladro,  y  eu  ambas  casas  hallo 
redes  de  hilo  de  palma  y  cordeles,  y  anzuelo  de 
cuerno,  y  fisgas  de  hueso  y  otros  aparejos  de 
pescar,  y  rauchos  huegos  dentro,  y  creyo  que  en 
cada  uua  casa  se  juntan  muchas  personas:  man- 
%do  que  no  se  tocase  en  cosa  de  todo  ello,  y  asi 
se  hizo.  La  yerba  era  grande  como  en  el  An- 
dalucia  por  Abril  y  Mayo.  Hallo  verdolagas 
muchas  y  bledos.  Toruose  &  la  barca  y  anduvo 
por  el  rio  arriba  un  buen  rato,  y  diz  que  era  gran 
placer  ver  aquellas  verduras  y  arboledas,  y  de 
las  aves  que  no  podia  dej  alias  para  se  volver. 
Dice  que  es  aquella  isla  la  rnas  hermosa  que 
ojos  hayan  visto,  llena  de  muy  buenos  puertos 
y  rios  hondos,  y  la  mar  que  parecia  que  nunca 
se  debia  de  alzar  porque  la  yerba  de  la  playa 
llegaba  hasta  cuasi  el  agua,  la  cual  no  suele 
llegar  donde  la  mar  es  brava:  hasta  entonces 
no  habia  experimentado  en  todas  aquellas  islas 
que  la  mar  fuese  brava.  La  isla,  dice,  ques 
llena  de  montauas  muy  hermosas,  aunque  no 
son  muy  grandes  en  longura  salvo  altas,  y  toda 
la  otra  tierra  es  alta  de  la  manera  de  Sicilia: 
llena  es  de  muchas  aguas,  segun  pudo  enteuder 
de  los  indios  que  consigo  lleva,  que  tomo  en  la 
isla  de  Guanahani,  los  cuales  le  dicen  por  senas 
que  hay  diez  rios  grandes,  y  que  con  sus  canoas 
no  la  pueden  cercar  en  veinte  dias.  Cuando 
iba  a  tierra  con  los  navios  salieron  dos  alma- 
dias  6  canoas,  y  como  vieron  que  los  marineros 
entraban  en  la  barca  y  remabau  para  ir  a  ver 
el  fondo  del  rio  para  saber  donde  habian  de 
surgir,  huyeron  las  cauoas.  Decian  los  indios 
que  en  aquella  isla  habia  minas  de  oro  y  perlas, 
y  vido  el  Almirante  lugar  apto  para  ellas  y 
almejas,  ques  seiial  dellas,  y  entendia  el  Almi 
rante  que  alii  venian  naos  del  Gran  Can,  y 
graudes,  y  que  de  alii  4  tierra  firme  habia  Jor 
nada  de  diez  dias.  Llamo  el  Almirante  aquel 
rio  y  puerto  de  San  Salvador  (l). 


(!)  Con6cese  con  el  nombre  de  Puerto  6  Sahia  de  Nlpe, 
&  seis  legnas  al  S.  8.  E.  de  la  punta  de  Mulas. 


which  they  eover  their  houses  ;  the  land  is  very 
level:  the  Admiral  jumped  into  the  ship's  boat 
and  went  on  shore,  and  came  to  two  houses 
which  he  thought  to  be  those  of  fishermen  and 
which  ran  away  in  fear,  they  found  in  one  of 
them  a  dog  which  never  barked,  and  in  both 
houses  he  found  nets  of  palm  thread  and  cords, 
and  horn  fish-hooks,  bone  harpoons  and  other 
fishing-gear,  and  numerous  sets  within,  and  he 
believed  that  each  house  was  occupied  by  many 
persons:  he  ordered  that  nothing  in  them 
should  be  touched,  and  nothing  was.  The  grass 
was  high  as  in  Andalucia  in  April  and  May. 
He  found  much  purslain  and  wild  amaranth. 
He  returned  to  the  boat  and  went  up  the  river 
for  a  good  while,  and  he  said  that  it  was  a  great 
pleasure  to  see  that  verdure  and  those  groves, 
and  of  the  birds  that  he  could  not  leave  them 
in  order  to  return.  He  says  that  that  island  is 
the  most  beautiful  that  eyes  ever  beheld,  full  of 
good  ports  and  deep  rivers,  and  it  seemed  to 
him  that  the  sea  must  never  be  high  there  for 
the  grass  of  the  beach  almost  reached  the  water, 
which  rarely  happens  where  the  sea  is  rough ; 
until  then  he  had  not  experienced  a  rough  sea 
in  all  those  islands.  The  island,  he  says,  is  full 
of  very  beautiful  mountains,  though  they  are 
not  very  long  but  lofty,  and  all  the  laud  is  high 
like  that  of  Sicily :  full  of  much  water,  as  he 
could  understand  from  the  Indians  with  him, 
whom  he  took  from  the  island  of  Guanahani, 
who  tell  him  that  there  are  ten  large  rivers,  and 
that  with  their  canoes  they  cannot  go  around 
it  in  twenty  days.  When  he  went  to  the  land 
with  the  vessels  two  canoes  approached,  and 
when  they  saw  that  the  sailors  entered  the  boat 
and  rowed  in  order  to  go  to  see  the  bottom  of 
the  river  in  order  to  know  where  they  were  to 
anchor,  the  canoes  fled.  The  Indians  said  that 
in  that  island  there  were  mines  of  gold  and 
pearls,  and  the  Admiral  saw  place  suitable  for 
them  and  shell-fish,  which  is  a  sign  of  them, 
and  the  Admiral  understood  that  ships  of  the 
Grand  Khan  came  there,  and  large  ones,  and 
that  from  there  to  the  main  laud  was  a  run  of 
ten  days.  The  Admiral  called  that  river  and 
port  San  Salvador. 


Next  to  this  text  in  entirety,  it  is  indispensable  to  every  thorough  discussion  of  the  first  land 
fall  that  the  student  should  have  before  him  a  correct  chart,  since  an  imperfect  one  is  inadequate 
to  the  settlement  of  a  problem,  the  proof  of  which  are  certain  brief  courses.  The  chart  in  the 
appendix  was  prepared  in  the  office  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  from  the  English  Ad 
miralty  surveys  of  1832-1830,  and  such  Spanish  charts  as  were  available.  The  Bahamas,  dependent 
upon  the  English  surveys,  are  accurate.  Some  of  the  harbors,  and  perhaps  part  of  the  coast  line 
of  Cuba  and  Hayti,  may  be  a  little  in  error  in  longitude. 


31 

The  five  tracks  from  five  different  islands  t8  Cuba  are — 

1st.  Navarrete's  from^be  Grand  Turk. 

2d.    Irving's  from  Oat. 

3d.    Captain  lecher's  from  WatliAg. 

•4th.  Varnhageu's  from  Mariguana. 

5th.  G.  V.  Fox's  from  Samaua,  of  Atwood,  Gay. 

Although  the  authorities  heretofore  mentioned  concurred  on  the  first  four  islands,  respectively, 
it  is  only  those  noted  here  that  have  laid  down  a  continuous  track  from  the  first  landfall  they  claimed 
for  Columbus,  to  Cuba.  With  this  authentic  chart  and  Las  Casas's  copy  of  Columbus's  journal, 
each  of  these  tracks,  and  the  arguments  of  their  supporters,  can  be  tried. 

THE  TRACK  OF  NAVARRETE. 

Navarrete  said,  1st:  Columbus  sighted  the  east  side  of  the  Grand  Turk  while  steering  a  course 
W.  by  S.  f  S.  and  from  there  he  went  around  by  the  north,  to  the  west  side  of  the  island. 

ANSWER.  The  journal  of  October  11  says  that  at  sunset — on  that  day  the  sun  set  at  5U  41m 
apparent  time — Columbus  steered  west  and  made  the  land  at  2  a.  m.  the  next  day.  On  the  13th 
Columbus  wrote :  "  I  determined  to  wait  until  to-morrow  evening,  and  then  to  sail  for  the  south, 
west."  On  the  14th  he  wrote  that  he  went  with  the  boats  "along  the  island  in  a  north-northeasterly 
direction,  to  see  the  other  side,"  *  *  *  "and  afterwards  1  returned  to  the  &hip(l)  and  "set  sail." 

Navarrete  said,  2d :  From  the  west  side  of  the  Grand  Turk  Columbus  sailed  W.  by  N.  £  N".  19 
miles  to  the  Caicos  Islands  which,  together,  formed  the  second,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Santa 
Maria  de  la  Conception.  (Navarrete,  p.  26,  note  I.) 

ANSWER.  Conceding  that  Columbus  went  to  the  north  of  west  when  he  said,  on  the  13th,  that 
he  would  sail  "  for  the  southwest,"  and  admitting  the  probability  that  in  1492  the  Caicos  group 
-was- one  island,  yet  it  does  not  agree  with  the  description  of  the  second  island  he  came  to,  of  which 
he  wrote  on  the  loth :  "  And  I  found  that  that  side  which  is  towards  the  island  of  San  Salvador 
runs  north  [and]  south,  and  is  five  leagues  [15.9  nautical  miles]  in  length,  and  the  other  which  I 
followed  ran  east  [and]  west,  and  contains  over  ten  leagues  [31.8  nautical  milesj.  And  as  from  this 
one  I  saw  another  larger  one  to  the  west,  I  clewed  up  the  sails  *  *  *  and  about  sunset  I 
anchored  near  said  cape  [the  western  cape]."  The  east  side  of  the  Caicos  is  north  and  south  13 
miles,  which  corresponds  with  the  journal;  but  the  north  shore  is  N.  W.  by  W.  |  W.  38  miles  and 
then  S.  W.  \  W.  38  miles.  Or,  if  the  N.  E.  side  of  the  Caicos  group  be  designated  as  the  east  and 
west  side  that  Columbus  followed,  it  agrees  near  enough  in  distance,  but  varies  2f  points  in  direc 
tion  ;  and  if  we  assume  the  journal  to  be  in  error  in  giving  "east  [and]  west,"  there  is  still  the 
insurmountable  fact  that  Columbus  wrote  three  times  on  the  15th,  and  twice  on  the  16th,  that  the 
third  island  bore  icest  from  the  second.  A  vessel  anchored  at  the  west  cape  of  the  N.  E.  side  of 
the  Caicos  group  has  no  laud  visible.  The  island  of  Mariguana  is  the  nearest,  and  this  is  N.  W. 
by  W.  I  W.  43  miles  distant. 

ISTavarrete  said,  3d :  From  the  second  island  Columbus  sailed  to  the  southward  and  westward 
to  Little  Inagua,  the  third  island,  which  he  named  Fernandina.  (Navarrete,  p.  28,  note  I.) 

ANSWER.  If  we  take  Navarrete's  course  as  it  is  laid  down  on  the  chart,  from  the  west  cape  of 
the  N.  E.  side  of  the  Caicos,  the  course  and  distance  to  Little  Inagua  are  S.  W.  f-  W.  60  miles.  If 
we  measure  from  the  S.  W.  Caicos  to  Little  Inagua — S.  E.  side— it  is  about  W.  S.  W.  25  miles. 

On  the  15th  of  October  Columbus  was  at  the  west  cape  of  his  second  island  and  he  wrote  in 
regard  to  the  third  island,  "  I  saw  another  larger  one  to  the  west  *  *  *  and  so  I  departed  at 
about  ten  o'clock  with  a  S.  E.  wind,  inclining  to  the  south,  for  the  other  island,  a  very  large  one.'' 
*  *  *  And  when  he  came  to  the  third  island  he  said:  "All  this  portion  of  the  island  runs  N. 
W.  [and]  S.  E.,  and  it  appears  that  there  are  on  this  coast  more  than  28  leagues  [89.1  nautical 
miles]."  On  the  16th,  after  a  more  careful  examination,  he  wrote:  "  And  this  cape  to  which  I  have 
come  and  all  this  coast  runs  N".  N.  W.  and  S.  S.  E.  and  I  saw  fully  20  leagues  [63.6  nautical  miles] 
of  it,  but  this  was  not  the  end." 

(')  Italics  are  by  the  writer. 


32 

This  is  the  description  of  Ferdinand  Island,  ft  cannot  be  Little  Inagua,  as  Xavarrete  asserts, 
bemuse  this  is  only  7i  miles  east  and  west,  and  the  same  X.  X.  K.  and  S.  S.  ^V. 

Xavarrete  said,  4th:  From  the  third  island,  Little  Inagua  [Santa  Maria],  Columbus  steered 
to  the  southward  and  westward  to  the  fourth  island,  Great  Inagua,  which  he  named  Isabels. 
(Navarrete,  p.  33,  note  I.) 

ANSWER..  When  Columbus  left  the  third  island  on  the  19th  of  October  he  wrote:  "At  dawn  I 
weighed  anchor  and  sent  the  caravel  Pinta  to  the  east  and  southeast,  and  the  caravel  Nina  to  the  S. 
S.  E.,  and  I  with  the  ship  went  to  the  S.E.  *  *  *  And  then  before  we  had  gone  three  hours  we 
saw  an  island  to  the  east,(1}  to  which  we  directed  our  course,  and  all  three  vessels  reached  it  before 
midday  at  its  northern  extremity,  where  there  is  a  rocky  islet.  *  *  *  And  the  said  islet  lay 
from  the  island  of  Fernaudina,  whence  I  had  come,  east  [and]  west." 

Navarrete  said,  5th:  From  the  fourth  island,  Great  Inagua  [Isabella],  Columbus  steered  X. 
by  E.  11  miles— W.  £  X.  56  miles— W.  by  X.  %  ST.  61  miles— and  S.  by  W.  4  W.  61  miles— to  Port 
Xipe,  in  Cuba. 

ANSWER.  Such  courses  and  distances  cannot  be  found  in  Columbus'^journal.  He  left  the 
fourth  island  on  the  24th  of  October  and  wrote:  "At  midnight(2)  I  weighed  anchor  from  the  island 
of  Isabella,  *  *  *  in  order  to  go  to  the  island  of  Cuba.  *  *  *  And  they  told  me  that  I 
should  go  to  it  by  the  W.  S.  W.,  and  so  I  think.  *  *  *  And  thus  I  sailed  until  day  to  the  AY. 
S.  W.,  and  at  dawn  the  wind  calmed.  *  *  *  And  I  remained  with  little  wind  until  after  mid 
day  and  then  the  wind  began  to  blow  very  lovely.  *  *  *  I  followed  iny  course  until  nightfall, 
and  the  Cabo  Verde  of  the  island  of  Femandina  bore  X.  AV.  7  leagues  [22.3  nautical  miles]."(3) 

On  the  25th,  still  steering  W.  S.  W.,  Columbus  discovered  "seven  or  eight  islands,  all  extend 
ing  from  north  to  south,  distant  from  them  five  leagues  [15.9  nautical  miles]."  On  the  26th  the 
journal  reads :  "  He  was  on  the  southern  side  of  said  islands,  all  was  shallow  for  five  or  six  leagues, 
he  anchored  there.  *  *  *  He  sailed  thence  for  Cuba."  The  journal  says,  October  27:  "At 
sunrise  he  weighed  anchor  from  those  islands,  which  he  called  Sand  islands,  on  account  of  the 
little  bottom  they  had  for  six  leagues  [19  nautical  miles]  to  the  south."  Xavarretc  wrote,  in  a  note, 
pp.  39-40,  that  Columbus  anchored  on  the  26th  of  October  on  the  eastern  and  southern  shoal  of  the 
"  Grand  Bank  of  Bahama,"  and  left  there  for  Cuba.  Although  Xavarrete's  track,  on  the  chart, 
does  not  reach  this  bank,  we  must  admit,  from  this  note,  that  he  intended  it.  But  there  is  no  part  A 
of  "Columbus  Bank"  which  bears  AV.  S.  W.  from  Gceat  Inagua.  Domingo  Cay,  the  most  southern 
part,  is  W.  £  X.  from  the  most  northeastern  part  of  Great  Inagua  ;  and  the  south  Kagged  island, 
south  of  which  he  anchored,  bears  W.  by  X.  $  X.  155  miles  from  the  X.  E.  end  of  Great  Inagua, 
and  X.  AV.  by  W.  £  W.  133  miles  from  the  S.  W.  end.  The  journal  evidently  omits  some  of  the 
distances  run  from  Isabella  to  the  Sand  Islands;  but  on  the  24th  Columbus  gives  the  bearing  and 
distance  of  the  S.  W.  Cape  of  Femandina,  and  this  "departure"  is  put  on  the  chart.  Afterward 
he  logs  16  leagues  W.  S.  AV.,  then  he  saw  the  Sand  Islands  5  leagues  distant,  making  a  total  of  21 
leagues,  66.8  nautical  miles.  The  true  course  and  distance  from  his  "departure"  to  South  Ragged 
are  AV.S.  W.  65  miles.  This  close  agreement  may  be  accidental;  but  if  we  omit  all  distances  given, 
yet  the  courses  found  in  the  journal  are  irreconcilable  with  any  from  Great  Inagua  to  the  south 
eastern  Bahama  Bank.  In  respect  to  Port  Xipe,  which  Xavarrete  and  Captain  Becher  adopt  for 
Columbus's  first  anchoring-place  in  Cuba,  see  the  discussion  of  Captain  Becher's  track. 

By  selecting  Turk  for  the  first  landfall,  an  extreme  S.  E.  island  of  the  Bahamas,  Xavarrete 
confronts  Juan  de  la  Cosa  and  Antonio  Herrera ;  for  on  their  charts,  which  will  be  referred  to  Ia4s*,     5  u , 
Guanahani  is  an  island  situated  near  the  middle  of  the  X.  E.  side  of  the  Bahama  group. 

THE  TRACK  OF  VARNHAGEN. 

A'arnhagen  said,  1st:  Columbus  made  the  island  of  Mariguana  steering  west;  he  rounded  the 
east  end  and  anchored  on  the  northeast  shore.  Hence  he  steered  W.  £  X.  40  miles  for  Creek  Point 
on  Ackliu  Island;  followed  the  north  and  south  shore  for  13  miles,  and  the  east  and  west  shore  -!> 
miles,  and  so  over  to  the  south  cape  of  Long  Island. 

(')  Italics  are  by  the  writer. 

(2)  It  was  obviously  the  midnight  which  bogan  this  day. 

(;l)  How  could  Little  Inagua  bear  X.  W.  of  him  22.!}  miles f 


33 

t 

ANSWER.  Varnliagvn,  like  Xavarrete,  ignores  the  assertion  of  Columbus  of  October  13:  "I  de 
termined  to  wait  until  to-morrow  evening  and  then  to  sail  for  the  southwest."  lie  has  even  omitted 
this  weighty  sentence  from  his  Gcschichte  dcs  Zeitalters  der  Entdeckungen. 

Conceding  that  he  steered  to  the  westward  from  Guauahani,  yet  Columbus  said,  on  the  15th  of 
October,  that  the  second  island  he  steered  for  was  "over  5  leagues  distant,  rather  7  [22.3  nautical 
miles]"  but  Yarnhagen's  second  island  is  40  miles  from  4be  first.  A  difference  of  79.4  per  cent,  in 
such  a  short  run,  actually  gone  over,  was  not  possible  with  so  experienced  a  navigator.  In  crossing 
the  Atlantic,  a  distance  of  more  than  3,000  miles,  he  overran  his  log  only  Hi  per  cent.  In  going 
from  Mariguana  to  Acklin,  Columbus  went  within  5  miles  of  two  islands,  each  70  feet  high.  Accord 
ing  to  Varnhagen,  Columbus  does  not  mention  them.  It  is  not  characteristic  of  his  journal  to  omit 
all  notice  of  the  first  islands  he  came  to  in  the  New  World.  He  wrote  on  the  15th  of  October: 
"Nevertheless  it  was  my  desire  not  to  pass  any  island  without  taking  possession  of  it,  as  one  taken 
possession  of  the  same  may  be  said  of  all;  and  I  anchored  and  remained  until  to  day." 

Columbus  did  not  go  along  the  shore  of  the  second  island  which  runs  north  and  south.  He 
wrote  on  the  15th  of  October,  "  I  found  that  that  side  which  is  towards  the  island  of  San  Salvador 
runs  north  [and]  south,  and  is  five  leagues  in  length,  and  the  other  ivhich  lfoUon-cd(])  ran  east  [and] 
\\cst." 

Varuhagen  said,  2d :  Columbus  went  from  the  south  cape,  around  Long  Island  and  returned 
to  the  south  cape. 

ANSWER.  On  the  16th  Columbus  wrote:  "This  island  is  exceedingly  large  and  -I  have  deter 
mined  to  go  around  it.  *  *  *  I  set  sail  with  a  south  wind  intending  to  go  around  the  whole 
island."  *  *  * 

On  the  17th-iip  ttTttfaa:  "The  wind  then  ceased,  and  then  sprang  up  from  the  W.  K  W.^which 
was  contrary  to  our  course,  and  so  I  turned  around  and  sailed  all^the  past  night.  *  *  *  And 
we  [are]  at  the  S.  E.  cape  of  the  island  where  I  hope  to  anchor  until  it  gets  clear."  In  addition  to 
these  decisive  words,  there  is  the  fact,  shown  by  the  chart,  that  between  Exuma  and  Long  Island 
the  water  is  too  shoal  for  such  vessels  as  Columbus  used.  This  will  be  spoken  of  again  in  discuss 
ing  living's  track. 

Varnhagen  said,  3d:  Columbus  sailed  from  the  south  cape  of  Long  Island  to  the  N.  W.  end  of 
Crooked  Island,  then  across  the  "  Columbus  bank"  to  Port  Gibara,  in  Cuba. 

ANSWER.  This  part  of  Varuhagen's  track  comes  near  to  Captain  Becher's  and  the  writer's, 
and  therefore  need  not  be  considered  here  except  in  regard  to  the  harbor  of  Gibara.  In  the  journal 
of  October  28th  we  read :  "He  went  thence  in  search  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  *  *  *  and  entered 
a  very  beautiful  river  *  *  *  the  mouth  of  the  river  had  twelve  fathoms."(2}  The  port  of  Gibara 
is  a  small  basin,  exposed  to  northerly  winds,  and  has  only  three  fathoms  at  the  entrance. 

WASHINGTON  IRVING'S  TRACK. 

The  track  of  Washington  Irving  is  laid  down  from  his  description  of  the  "  Koute  of  Columbus 
in  his  first  voyage."  (Irving's  Columbus,  revised  edition,  vol.  iii,  appendix,  pp.  366-380.) 

Irving  wrote,  1st:  "From  Guanahani  Columbus  saw  so  many  islands  that  he  was  at  a  loss 
which  next  to  visit.  *  *  *  He  determined  to  go  to  the  largest  in  sight.  *  *  *  The  island 
thus  selected,  it  is  presumed,  was  the  present  island  of  Conception ;  and  that  the  others  were  that 
singular  belt  of  small  islands  known  as  La  Cardena  (or  the  chain)  stretching  past  the  island  of  San 
Salvador  in  a  S.  E.  and  1ST.  W.  direction;  the  nearest  of  the  group  being  nearer  than  Concepcion, 
while  the  rest  are  more  distant.  *  *  *  We  know  that  in  all  this'neighborhood  the  current  sets 
strongly  to  the  W.  N.  W.;  and  since  Columbus  had  the  current  against  him  he  must  have  been 
sailing  in  an  opposite  direction,  or  to  the  E.  S.  E.  *  *  *  Hence  it  is  rendered  certain  that 
Columbus  did  not  sail  westward  in  going  from  San  Salvador  to  Conception;  for  from  the  opposi 
tion  of  the  wind,  as  there'  could  be  no  other  cause,  he  could  not  sail  toward  that  quarter.  *  *  * 
Conception  situated  E.  S.  E.  from  San  Salvador,  and  at  a  corresponding  distance  of  5  leagues 
[15.9  nautical  miles]." 

(')  Italics  are  by  the  writer. 

(2)  E.  F.  Qualtrongh,  Master  U.  S.  Navy.  Sailors'  Handy  Book,  p.  192,  makes  the  old  Spanish  braza  equal  5.432 
English  feet.  Italics  are  by  the  writer. 

App.  18 5 


34 

ANSWER.  Columbus  wrote,  on  the  14th  of  October:  "I  returned  to  the  ship  and  set  sail  and 
saw  so  many  islands  that  I  could  not  decide  to  which  one  I  should  go  first."  ^Ir.  (Jibbs  made  per 
sonal  observation  from  the  southeast  point  of  Cat  island  and  wrote:  "  No  land  can  be  seen  from 
the  highest  hills,  nor  from  the  mast-head  of  a  vessel  lying  at  Winding  Bay  or  Columbus  Point, 
where  he  is  said  to  have  landed,(]) 

The  island  of  Conception  is  2£  miles  long,  If  broad,  and  90  feet  high.  Near  by,  on  the  east 
side,  is  Booby  Cay,  one-third  of  a  mile  across  and  130  feet  high.  The  reef  surrounding  both  is  8 
by  5  miles.  It  is  possible  that  in  1492  an  island  might  have  been  there  of  these  dimensions. 

On  the  loth  of  October  Columbus  described,  the  second  island  thus  :  "  I  found  that  that  side 
which  is  toward  the  island  of  San  Salvador  runs  north  [andj  south,  and  is  five  leagues  [15.9  nau 
tical  miles]  in  length,  and  the  other  which  I  followed  ran  east  [and]  west,  and  contains  over  ten 
leagues" — 31.8  nautical  miles.  La  Cardeua  (the  chain  of  islands  stretching  away  to  the  north 
ward  and  westward  from  Great  Exuma)  is,  in  the  uighest  part,  36  miles  from  Cat  island,  48  from 
Columbus  Point,  and  50  from  Conception,  and  certainly  invisible  from  each. 

The  currents  in  this  neighborhood  are  spoken  of  by  Capt.  E.  13  a  met  in  the  West  India  Pilot, 
3d  edition,  1876,  p.  431,  thus :  "  In  the  neighborhood  of  Conception  Island  it  is  said  generally  to 
run  strong  to  the  N.  W.  Some  observations  tend  to  show  that  after  northers  or  on  the  increase  of 
the  moon,  as  it  approaches  to  change,  there  is  a  similar  set  to  the  southward.  There  is,  however, 
no  certainty  in  the  case,  and  consequently  more  than  ordinary  attention  is  required  when  naviga 
ting  among  the  West  India  islands." 

There  is  no  foundation  that  Columbus  had  "the  current  against  him,"  except  his  remark 
of  the  13th  of  October,  "the  tide  detained  me."  On  the  eve  of  leaving  Guanahani  he  wrote,  "1 
determined  to  wait  until  tomorrow  evening,  and  then  to  sail  for  the  southwest."  There  is  no  men 
tion  in  the  journal  of  "the  opposition  of  the  wind."  Columbus  does  not  give  its  direction  until  the 
loth,  when  he  was  at  the  second  island,  then  he  records  it  as  being  S.  E.  Conception  lies  S.  S.E.  ^  E., 
19  miles  from  the  southeast  point  of  Cat. 

Irving  wrote,  2d:  "Leaving  Conception  on  the  16th  of  October  Columbus  steered  for  a  very 
large  island  seen  to  the  westward  nine  leagues  [28.6  nautical  miles]  off,  and  which  extended  itself 
28  leagues  [89  nautical  miles]  in  a  southeast  and  northwest  direction.  *  *  *  He  named  it  Fer- 
nandina.  At  noon  he  made  sail  again,  with  a  view  to  run  round  it  and  reach  another  island  called 
Samoet;  but  the  wind  being  at  S.  E.  by  S.  the  course  he  wished  to  steer,  the  natives  signified  that 
it  would  be  easier  to  sail  around  the  island  by  running  to  the  K.  W.  with  a  fair  wind.  He  there 
fore  bore  up  to  the  N.  W.,  and  having  run  two  leagues  [6.4  nautical  miles]  found  a  marvelous  port 
with  a  narrow  entrance.  *  *  *  Sailing  out  of  this  harbor  by  the  opposite  entrance  at  the 
northwest,  he  discovered  that  part  of  the  island  which  runs  east  and  west.  The  natives  signified 
to  him  that  this  island  was  smaller  than  Samoet,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  return  towards  the 
latter.  It  had  now  become  calm,  but  shortly  after  there  sprung  up  a  breeze  from  the  W.  N.  W., 
which  was  ahead  for  the  course  they  had  been  steering ;  so  they  bore  up  and  stood  to  the  E.  S.  E. 
in  order  to  get  an  offing;  for  the  weather  threatened  a  storm,  which  however  dissipated  itself  in 
rain.  The  next  day,  being  the  18th  of  October,  they  anchored  opposite  the  extremity  of  Fernan- 
dina.  The  whole  of  this  description  answers  most  accurately  to  the  island  of  Exuma.  *  *  * 
The  identity  of  the  island  here  described  with  Exuma  is  irresistibly  forced  upon  the  mind." 

ANSWER.  In  calling  Exuma  Fernandina,  and  anchoring  Columbus  "opposite  the  extremity,"  it 
is  evident  that  Irving  included  in  this  name  Little  Exuraa,  which  lies  to  the  southward  and  east 
ward  of  Great  Exuma,  and  Hog  Cay  lying  farther  east.  These  might  have  formed  one  island  in 
1492,  for  the  narrow  channel  between  Great  and  Little  Exuma  is  now  almost  fordable  at  low  water. 
On  this  chart/Crreat  "Exuma  and  Hog  CayXo^il^ire*iioted.  The  laud  between  is  Little  Exuma. 

From  Conception  Irving  takes  Columbus  to  a  position,  whence,  by  steering  at  least  6.4  miles 
N.  \V.,  he  came  to,  entered,  and  passed  through  "a  marvellous  port"  (Great  Exuma  harbor).  It 
is  obvious  that  the  opposite  of  northwest,  measured  6.4  miles  from  the  southeast  entrance  of  this 
harbor,  would  put  a  ship  on  shore;  therefore  the  track  on  this  chart  is  laid  down  close  to  the  land., 
without  regard  to  the  course  it  makes. 

(')  Proceedings  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  1846.    Appendix. 


35 

From  Conception  to  the  turning-point  of  Irving,  6.4  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Great  Exuma 
harbor,  the  course  and  distance  are  S.  W.  £  S.,  35  miles.  AVhile  on  his  way  from  the  second  island 
to  the  third — Conception  to  Fernandina — October  15th,  Columbus  wrote:  "And  from  this  island  of 
Santa  Maria  to  the  other  one  there  are  9  leagues  [28.6  nautical  miles]  east  [and]  west."  On 
the  16th,  after  arriving  at  Fernandina,  he  wrote:  "This  island  lies  at  a  distance  from  that  (f 
Santa  Maria  8  leagues  [25.5  nautical  miles]  almost  east  [and]  west." 

He  could  not  have  entered  and  sailed  out  of  this  marvellous  port  by  the  opposite  entrance, 
because  on  the  17th  of  October  he  said:  "I  found  a  very  marvellous  port.  *  *  *  Within  it 
there  is  ample  room  for  100  ships  if  it  had  sufficient  depth  of  water  and  was  clear,  and  also  had  a 
deep  entrance.  I  thought  it  worth  while  to  examine  and  sound  it,  and  so  I  anchored  outside  of  it, 
and  went  in  with  all  the  boats  of  the  ships  and  saw  there  was  not  bottom."  Neither  could  he  have 
discovered  that  part  of  Exuma  which  runs  east  and  west,  because  no  part  of  it  does.  Nor  could 
he  have  anchored  opposite  the  extremity  of  Fernandina,  because  there  is  not  sufficient  depth  of 
water. 

Irving  wrote,  3d:  "On  the  19th  of  October  the  ships  left  Fernandiua  steering  S.  E.,  with  the 
wind  at  north.  Sailing  three  hours  on  this  course  they  discovered  Samoet  to  the  east,  and  steered 
for  ifc,  arriving  at  its  north  point  before  noon.  Here  they  found  a  little  island  surrounded  by  rocks, 
with  another  reef  of  rocks  lying  between  it  and  Samoet.  To  Samoet  Columbus  gave  the  name  of 
Isabella,  and  to  the  point  of  it  opposite  the  little  island,  that  of  Cabo  del  Isleo ;  the  cape  of  the 
S.  W.  point  of  Samoet  Columbus  called  Cabo  de  Laguna,  and  off  this  last  his  ships  were  brought 
to  anchor.  The  island  lay  in  the  direction  from  Fernandina  to  Isabella,  east  and  west.  The  coast 
from  the  small  island  lay  westerly  12  leagues  [38.2  nautical  miles]  to  a  cape  which  Columbus  called 
Formosa,  from  its  beauty;  this  he  believed  to  be  an  island  apart  from  Samoet  or  Isabella,  with 
another  between  them.  Leaving  Cabo  Laguna,  where  he  remained  until  the  20th  of  October, 
Columbus  steered  to  the  N.  E.  toward  Cabo  del  Isleo,  but  meeting  with  shoals  inside  the  small 
island,  he  did  not  come  to  anchor  until  the  day  following.  *  *  *  The  island  of  Isabella,  <T 
Samoet,  agrees  so  accurately  in  its  description  with  Isla  Larga  [Long  Island],  which  lies  east  of 
Exuma,  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  read  it  with  the  chart  unfolded  to  become  convinced  of  its 
identity." 

ANSWER.  This  is  the  description  of  that  part  of  the  Bahamas  which  the  West  India  Pilot,  vol. 
ii,  p.  444,  describes  thus:  "The  west  side  of  Long  Island  is  only  navigable  for  boats  and  very  small 
coasters,  who  manage  to  pick  their  way  across  to  the  Jumento  cays."  The  blank  space  on  this 
chart  from  Exuma  to  Long  Island  was  purposely  left  so  by  the  English  surveyors,  because  it  is 
unnavigable.  There  is  no  ground  for  believing  that  the  water  was  deeper  in  1492,  -fw  the  wasting  of 
these  islands  and  cays  tends  to  the  opposite  result. 

Irving  makes  Columbus  leave  Exuma  [Fernandina]  in  search  of  Samoet,  which,  he  says,  is 
Long  Island.  Now  when  Columbus  was  at  Conception  he  had  Long  Island  plainly  in  sight,  for  it 
is  only  14  miles  from  there.  In  fact,  to  go  from  Conception  to  Exuma,  an  island  he  could  not  see, 
he  had  to  bend  his  course  to  the  northward  and  westward  to  avoid  an  island  that  was  visible  at 
his  start  and  for  which  he  was  searching. 

Irving  wrote,  4th:  "Having  resolved  to  visit  the  island  which  the  natives  called  Cuba,  and 
described  as  bearing  W.  S.  W.  from  Isabella,  Columbus  left  Cabo  del  Isleo  at  midnight,  the  com 
mencement  of  the  24th  of  October,  and  shaped  his  course  accordingly  to  the  W.  S.  W.  *  *  * 
and  in  the  evening  Cape  Verd,  S.  W.  point  of  Fernandina  [Exuma],  bore  N.  "W".  distant  7  leagues 
[22.3  nautical  miles].  *  *  *  At  3  p.  m.  of  the  25th  land  was  discovered,  consisting  of  7  or  8  keys, 
lying  north  and  south,  and  distant  5  leagues  [15.9  nautical  miles]  from  the  ship.  Here  he  anchored 
the  next-day,  south  of  these  islands,  which  he  called  Islas  de  Arena.  *  *  *  This  sum  of  30  leagues 
[95.5  nautical  miles]  is  about  three  less  than  the  distance  from  the  S.  W.  point  of  Fernandina  or 
Exuma,  whence  Columbus  took  his  departure,  to  the  group  of  the  Mucarras,  which  lie  east  of  Cayo 
Lobo  on  the  grand  bank  of  Bahama,  and  which  correspond  to  the  description  of  Columbus.  *  *  * 
The  course  from  Exuma  to  the  Mucarras  is  about  S.  W.  by  W.  *  *  *  At  sunrise  Columbus  set 
sail  from  the  isles  Arenas  or  Mucarras  for  an  island  called  Cuba,  steering  S.  S.  W.  At  dark,  having 
made  17  leagues  [54.1  nautical  miles]  on  that  course,  he  saw  the  laud  and  hove  his  ship  to  until 
morning.  On  the  28th  he  made  sail  again  at  S.  S.  W.  and  entered  a  beautiful  river  with  a  fine 


36 

harbor,  which  he  named  San  Salvador.    *    *    *    This  port  of  San  Salvador  we  take  to  be  the  one 
now  known  as  Caravelas  Grandes." 

ANSWER.  Columbus  wrote  on  the  24th  of  October:  "At  midnight  I  weighed  anchor  from  the 
island  of  Isabela  the  cape  of  the  rocky  islet,  which  is  on  the  northern  side  where  I  was  lying  in 
order  to  go  to  the  island  of  Cuba."  On  the  19th,  when  he  had  anchored  at  this  rocky  islet,  he  wrote : 
"  The  coast  afterwards  ran  from  the  rocky  islet  to  the  westward,  and  there  was  in  it  twelve  leagues 
as  far  as  a  cape,  which  I  called  Cape  Beautiful,  which  is  in  the  west."  These  extracts  point  out 
that  the  rocky  islet  from  which  Columbus  sailed  for  Cuba  had  land  stretching  from  it  to  the  wrst- 
ward,  which  terminated  in  a  beautiful  cape.  Mufioz,  Irving,  and  also  M.  le  Baron  de  Montlc/un, 
make  this  position  to  be  the  northwest  end  of  Long  Island. (])  But  thence  no  laud  runs  to  the 
westward,  nor  could  Columbus's  vessels  go  to  Cuba  from  there,  because  of  shallow  water. 

The  bearing  and  distance  which  Columbus  gives  on  the  24th  of  October,  "S.  W.  cape  of  Fer- 
nandina  N.  W.  7  leagues  [22.3  nautical  miles]  "  Irving  reckons  from  the  southeast  end  of  Exuina. 
This  is  marked  on  the  chart  "departure."  The  course  to  it  from  the  rocky  islet — northwest  end 
of  Long  Island — is  S.  by  E.  When  Columbus  left  the  cape  of  the  rocky  islet,  on  the  24th  of  Oc 
tober,  he  wrote:  "And  thus  I  sailed  until  day  to  the  "W.  S.  W."  A  course  from  the  northwest 
end  of  Long  Island  to  Irving's  "  departure "  passes  over  the  shallow  water  spoken  of,  and  goes 
through  the  solid  land  which  stretches  from  Long  Island. 

From  this  departure,  Irving  makes  Columbus  go  straight  to  the  Mucarras  Reef.  A  glance  ;it 
the  chart  shows  the  impossibility  of  such  a  course.  It  runs  through  cays,  among  "rocky  heads," 
and  over  that  very  shoal  part  of  the  Bahama  bank  upon  which  the  experienced  seaman  hesitates 
to  venture  even  with  a  good  pilot  and  a  correct  chart. 

Columbus's  journal  does  not  speak  of  any  shoal  water  from  the  cape  of  the  rocky  islet  to  the 
"  Man  de  Arena."  AVhen  lie  arrived  there  it  reads:  "He  was  on  the  southern  side  of  said  islands, 
all  was  shallow  for  five  or  six  leagues  [15.8  to  19.1  nautical  miles],  he  anchored  there."  According 
to  the  chart,  there  is  no  shallow  water-south  of  the  Mucarras;  the  deep  water  of  the  old  Bahama 
channel  runs  close  to  it. 

From  Mucarras  to  the  port  of  Caravelas  Graudes  it  is  S.  S.  W.  £,  W.  only  28  miles.  Irving 
admits  that  Columbus  ran  on  the  27th  17  leagues— 54.1  nautical  miles— and,  on  the  28th,  more  on 
the  same  course.  But  fifty-four  miles  from  the  Mucarras,  in  a  south-southwest  direction,  is  2(>  miles 
into  the  island  of  Cuba.  The  port  of  Caravelas  Grandes  has  6  feet  of  water  at  the  entrance  and  the 
tide  rises  3.J  feet.  The  journal  of  October  28th  reads :  "  The  mouth  of  the  river  had  twelve  fath 
oms."  Even  if  this  is  a  clerical  error  it  is  certain  that  the  flag-ship  of  Columbus  could  not  enter 
so  shallow  a  port.  (See  Appendix  E.) 

All  that  Mniioz  wrote  in  regard  to  the  identity  of  Watling  and  Guanahani  and  the  track  of 
Columbus  in  the  Bahamas  is  this,  in  volume  1 — the  only  one  published,  owing  to  his  death— pp. 
8.T-SG :  "  In  my  opinion,  Guanahani  is  Watlin.  He  landed  on  the  S.  W.  point.  He  took  the  boats 
and  reconnoitered  by  way  of  the  N.  N.  E.  the  western  coast,  and  having  doubled  the  northern 
point,  he  turned  arouiuH>y  the  eastern  coast,  which  is  the  largest  side  and  is  estimated  at  having 
more  than  15  leagues^)  [47.7  nautical  miles]." 

Page  87 :  "  Having  stayed  three  days  at  San  Salvador,  he  sailed  to  a  smaller  island  which 
he  had  descried,  at  the  distance  of  7  leagues  [22.3  nautical  miles]  ;  without  stopping  there,  he 
steered  for  another  and  larger  one,  which  seemed  to  lie  at  a  distance  of  about  10  leagues  [31.8 
nautical  miles]  to  the  west.  Here  he  cast  anchor  and  took  possession  of  the  laud,  calling  it  Santa 
Maria  de  la  Concepcion.  *  *  *  Hence  continuing  8  leagues  [25.4  nautical  miles]  in  a  westerly 
direction,  he  came  upon  an  island  which  was  considerably  larger,  level,  pleasant,  and  having  a 
beautiful  beach.  I  think  it  is  the  island  which  is  called  Gato  [Cat],  which  he  called  Fernandina," 

Tage  88:  "Having  turned  the  prows  to  the  S.  E.,  the  fleet  passed  an  island  superior  to 
those  which  they  had  seen,  both  in  extent  and  pleasant  appearance;  it  rose  higher  above  the  sur 
face  of  the  sea;  the  soil  was  not  so  uniform  as  in  the  others,  but  varied,  with  some  hills;  it 
abounded  in  water,  many  lagoons,  and  most  beautiful  meadows  and  groves.  He  took  possession 

(' )  According  to  Irving's  text,  ante,  3d,  Columbus's  track  ou  this  chart,  on  the  west  side  of  Long  Island,  shoultf  be 
extended  to  the  "north  point." 

(*)  To  row  around  Watling  island,  the  distance  is  39  nautical  miles;  around  Cat,  it  is  100. 


37 

and  changed  its  former  name  Samoeto  to  Isabela.  It  is  probably  that  which  is  now  called  Long 
Island." 

Page  90 :  "  He  steered  to  the  south,  in  quest  of  the  large  laud  which  was  mentioned  by  all  the 
people  of  the  Lucayos  islands  under  the  name  of  Cuba.  They  referred  to  it  with  expressions  and 
gestures  which  seemed  to  our  men  to  signify  abundance  of  gold  and  pearls,  great  nations,  power 
ful  kings,  many  ships,  seamen,  and  merchants.  Having  compared  these  circumstances  with  the 
place  where  the  map  of  Toscanelli  represented  the  extreme  portion  of  India  and  its  adjacent  isl 
ands,  Columbus  and  the  Piuzous  suspected  that  this  Cuba  was  the  famous  Cipaugo.  They  sighted 
it  on  the  27th  of  October,  at  nightfall,  on  the  northern  coast.  At  dawn  on  the  following  day  they 
saw,  in  taking  their  first  view,  a  most  beautiful  country,  very  remarkable;  beautiful  rising  grounds 
and  mountains,  wide-stretching  meadow  lauds,  and  rivers  of  considerable  volume.  In  one  of  these 
the  fleet  anchored,"  &c. 

Muiloz,  probably,  had  no  authentic  chart  when  he  wrote  the  abovo.  The  east  side  of  Watling 
is  only  twelve  miles  long.  If  Columbus  went  from  Watling  to  a  smaller  island,  without  stopping 
at  the  latter,  it  was  either  Conception  or  Burn  Cay.  From  neither  could  he  have  sailed  to  the  west 
31.8  miles  and  then  taken  possession  of  any  land  except — with  some  allowance — the  northwest 
part  of  Long  Island.  From  here  he  could  not  continue  in  a  iresterly  direction  25.4  miles  and 
arrive  at  Cat,  because  this  lies  about  north  ly  icest  from  that.  After  leaving  Cat,  he  turns  his 
prows  to  the  southeast,  returns,  and  takes  possession  of  the  island  he  left  a  few  days  before.  As 
Mufioz  means  that  Columbus  went  to  Cuba,  steering  south  from  the  northwest  end  of  Long  Island, 
see  the  discussion  of  Irving's  track  (ante,  p.  3G). 

CAPTAIN  BECKER'S  TRACK. 

Captain  A.  B.  Becher,  Royal  Navy,  published  in  London,  in  185C,  an  octavo  of  37G  pages, 
called  the  Landfall  of  Columbus  on  his  first  voy aye  to  America.  In  the  preface  he  wrote :  "The 
work  has  cost  several  years  of  close  application  at  frequent  intervals  of  rest  from  the  duties  of  the 
Hydrographical  Office  of  the  Admimlty."  In  1856  the  accurate  Admiralty  charts  used  in  this 
discussion  had  been  published.  The  office  in  which  Captain  Becher  served  possessed  more 
knowledge  about  the  Bahamas  than  is  known  elsewhere,  and  his  position  gave  him  exceptional 
advantages  in  seeking  information.  With  such  facts  it  might  be  expected  that  his  conclusions 
should  be  generally  accepted. 

Captain  Becher  first  makes  Columbus  approach  Watling  steering  S.  W.,  and  he  anchors  him 
on  the  northeast  side,  about  four  miles  east-southeast  of  the  northeast  end,  in  a  position  from 
which  his  boats  must  have  rowed  northwest  "to  see  the  other  side."  He  also  takes  the  squadron 
around  Watliug  by  the  north. 

ANSWER.  The  journal  of  October  1L  reads:  "He  sailed  to  the  west-southwest.  *  *  *  After 
sunset  he  sailed  on  his  first  course  to  the  west;  they  went  about  12  miles  an  hour  [9.C  nautical 
miles],  and  two  hours  after  midnight  they  had  run  about  90  miles,  thait  is,  22.}  leagues  [71.6 
nautical  miles].  *  *  *  Two  hours  after  midnight  the  land  appeared  about  two  leagues  oft' 
[6.4  nautical  miles]."  Columbus  wrote  on  the  14th:  "At  dawn  I  ordered  the  boat  of  the  ship  and 
the  boats  of  the  caravels  to  be  got  ready,  and  went  along  the  island,  in  a  north-northeasterly  direc 
tion,  to  see  the  other  side,  which  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  east,  and  also  to  see  the  villages." 
After  he  had  examined  the  island  in  the  boats  on  the  14th,  he  wrote:  "And  afterward  I  returned 
to  the  ship  and  set  sail." 

Captain  Becher  writes,  2d  Appendix,  page  345,  note :  "  Rum  Cay  is  the  name  of  the  small 
island  first  steered  for  by  Columbus  after  leaving  Guanahani,  and  on  which  he  not  only  did  not 
consider  it  worth  while  to  land,  but  even  not  to  bestow  a  name." 

Pages  111,  112  :  "The  distance  of  Rum  Cay  corresponds  with  that  given  by  Columbus,  but  he- 
was  mistaken  in  respect  of  its  size,  and  no  doubt  baffled  and  deceived  from  the  eft'ects  of  the  cur 
rent.  Yet  no  sooner  does  he  gain  it  than,  attracted  by  another  large  island  to  the  westward, 
without  waiting  to  land  on  this,  'the  first  island  steered  for,'  he  continues  his  course  toward  that, 
making  all  the  sail  he  can,  so  as  to  reach  it  before  night." 

Page  116:  "But  with  respect  to  the  size  of  Rum  Cay,  it  is  evidently  erroneously  stated 


38 

in  the  journal ;  perhaps  from  accident,  arising  from  the  blotted  and  rotten  condition  of  the 
papers.  But  Columbus,  seeing  it  was  an  unimportant  island,  and  that  a  much  larger  one  was 
before  him,  hastens  oft*  to  it,  and  could  not,  therefore,  say  anything  for  certain  about  Rum  Cay. 
If  he  really  meant  the  length  of  its  side  next  to  Guanahani  and  that  lying  east  and  west  to  be  as 
he  gives  them,  they  are  greatly  in  error.  But  this  requires  confirmation;  and  it  might  be  asked 
how  he  could  have  determined  the  former?  All  this  must  have  been  mere  guesswork,  lor  he 
could  not  get  to  the  southward,  being  prevented  by  the  current." 

ANSWER.  Ruin  Cay  is  only  4J  miles  north  and  south,  and  9£  east  and  west.  If  the  reel'  around 
it  is  included,  it  would  measure  8  miles  north  and  south  and  12i  east  and  west.  Columbus  wrote 
of  the  second  island,  on  the  15th  of  October:  "And  I  found  that  that  side,  Avhich  is  toward  tl  e 
island  of  San  Salvador,  runs  north  [and]  south,  and  is  five  leagues  [15.9  nautical  miles]  in  length, 
and  the  other  which  I  followed  ran  east  [and]  west,  and  contains  over  ten  leagues  [31.8  nautical 
miles].  And  as  from  this  island  I  saw  another  larger  one  to  the  west,  I  clewed  up  the  sails  for  1  had 
gone  all  that  day  until  night,  because  I  could  not  yet  have  gone  to  the  western  cape,  to  which  1 
gave  the  name  of  the  island  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion,  and  about  sunset  I  anchored  near 
said  cape  in  order  to  learn  whether  there  was  gold  there." 

Columbus  said,  in  his  letter  to  Luis  de  Santaugel,  Navarrete,  p.  1.67:  "To  the  first  island  that 
I  found  I  gave  the  name  of  San  Salvador.  *  *  *  To  the  second  island  I  gave  the  name  of  Santa 
Maria  de  Concepcion ;  the  third  I  called  Fernandiua;  the  fourth,  Isabela;  the  fifth,  Juana,"  &<'. 
These  extracts  from  Columbus  and  Captain  Becher  are  contradictory.  Captain  Becher's  strain  at 
an  agreement  is  at  the  expense  of  Columbus,  and  his  surmises  show  the  insurmountable  obstacle 
of  selecting  Rum  Cay  for  the  second  island.  The  substance  of  Columbus^journal  is  this :  he  sailed 
over  31T%  miles  along  a  shore  of  the  second  island,  which  ran  east  and  west ;  then  lie  saw  a  larger 
island  to  the  west;  he  took  in  sail;  he  named  the  second  island  and  he  anchored  at  the  west  eaj  e 
of  it,  and  the  next  day  he  went  on  shore  there. 

Captain  Becher,  Appendix,  p.  345,  note  xxix,  translates  "Cargne  las  velas" — croicds  all  sail: 
the  true  meaning  is,  I  clewed  up  the  sails.  On  p.  118  Captain  Becher  again  recognizes  the  per 
plexity  of  his  situation,  for  after  saying  that  Columbus  did  n8t  bestow  a  name  on  the  second  island 
he  writes:  "But  why  should  'Rum  Cay'  be  thus  left  nameless!"  And  thereupon  he  proposes  this 
tampering  with  the  names  given  by  Columbus  (p.  118).  "  The  long  appellation  of  Santa  Maria  de  la 
Concepcion  is,  therefore,  divided  between  Hum  Cay  and  Long  Island;  the  name  Concepcion  being 
assigned  to  the  former,  and  to  the  latter,  Long  Island,  Santa  Maria,  or  St.  Mary."  On  page  376  he 
recalls  this  extraordinary  division,  and  suggests  that  the  whole  of  Long  Island  should  be  called 
Coucepcion,  and  the  northwest  cape,  Santa  Maria.  Captain  Becher  asks  how  Columbus  could 
have  determined  the  length  of  the  side  of  the  island  next  to  Guanahani,  as  the  current  prevented 
his  going  to  the  southward,  and  he  remarks  that  it  must  have  been  mere  "guesswork."  On  the 
15th  of  October  Columbus  speaks  of  being  late  in  arriving  at  the  second  island,  because  "the  tide 
detained  me."  He  says  nothing  about  the  "current"  preventing  his  course  to  the  south.  Of  the 
two  sides  of  the  island  he  saw,  he  chose  to  follow  the  one  running  east  and  west,  without  giving 
any  reason  therefor.  His  estimate  of  the  length  of  the  side  he  did  not  follow  was  "  guesswork." 
Navigators  of  the  present  day  necessarily  enter  upon  their  log-books  a  great  deal  of  guesswork, 
especially  in  regard  to  new  lands,  and  they  will  continue  to  do  so.  . 

Captain  Becher  writes,  3d  (p.  118) :  "  Columbus  passed  along  the  northern  shore  of  Rum  Cay 
without  landing  on  it,  and  continued  to  the  west  under  all  the  sail  he  could  set  for  Cape  Santa 
Maria  de  la  Concepcion."  *  *  * 

Pages  120,  121.  "  Columbus  is  now  approaching  that  portion  of  his  discoveries  where  he  has 
been  least  understood,  and  yet  where  his  journal  is  by  no  means  deficient  in  clearness  and  perspi 
cuity;  still  his  actual  proceedings,  and  their  localities,  seemed  to  have  escaped  the  penetration  of 
all  who  have  attempted  to  connect  them.  But  here  in  fact,  he  was  deceived  himself,  believing 
that  he  was  alluding  to  one  island  when/he  was  really  speaking  of  two,  thereby  baffling  investiga 
tion  without  intending  to  do  so,  and  puzzling  effectually  the  ingenuity  of  all  geographers.  Among 
other  reasons,  such  as  the  state  of  the  wind,  &c.,  for  not  delaying  his  stay  at  Cape  Santa  Maria, 
is  the  appearance  of  another  large  island  in  the  west.  He,  therefore,  makes  sail  for  it,  about  10 
a.m.,  with  a  S.  E.  wind,  borrowing,  as  seamen  term  it  (that  is  edging)  toward  the  south,  that  he 


39 

might  look  down  along  the  western  shore  of  the  island,  as  he  would  open  it  when  rounding  Cape 
Santa  Maria." 

Pages  121-122 :  "  The  wind,  however,  does  not  allow  of  his  making  much  progress  to  the  south. 
It  falls  in  light  airs,  comes  more  from  the  southward  against  him,  so  that  his  course  becomes  more 
westerly,  and  he  approaches  the  southern  portion  of  the  Exuma  Islands."  *  *  * 

Page  122.  "And  before  he  arrives  at  it,  while  it  is  yet  before  him,  he  gives  it  the  name  of  Fer- 
nandina,  not  having  given  any  name  even  to  that  of  Cape  Santa  Maria." 

Page  120 :  "  The  17th  of  October,  the  Admiral  is  at  anchor  off  the  island  called  Great  Exuma. 

*  *    *     The  course  which  Columbus  pursued  from  Guanahani  to  Concepcion  (considered  here  to 
be  Euni  Cay,  although  not  named  by  the  Admiral),  and  from  thence  to  Cape  Santa  Maria  de  Con 
cepcion  (believed  here  also  to  be  the  north  extreme  of  Long  Island),  and  from  this  to  Exuma,  which 
is  agreed  on  as  being  Fernaudina,  appears  on  the  accompanying  chart." 

ANSWER.  On  the  loth  of  October  Columbus  was  at  the  western  cape  of  an  island  which  he  called 
Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion,  considered  by  Captain  Becher  to  be  the  north  end  of  Long  Island. 
Then,  and  on  that  date,  Columbus  wrote :  "  From  this  island  I  saw  another  larger  one  to  the  west. 

*  *     *     And  soon  after  I  set  sail  for  the  other  large  island  that  appeared  at  the  west.     *      *     * 
And  so  I  left,  at  about  ten  o'clock,  with  a  southeast  wind  inclining  to  the  south  for  the  other 
i  >laud.    *     *    *    And  from  this  island  of  Santa  Maria  to  the  other  one  there  are  nine  leagues 
[28.0  nautical  miles]  east  and  west." 

On  the  10th  ho  wrote:  "About  noon  I  left  the  islands  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion  for  the 
inland  of  Fcrnandina,  which  appears  to  be  very  large  to  the  west,  and  I  sailed  all  that  day  with 
calm  weather."  On  the  same  date,  having  arrived  at  Fernaiidina,  he  writes:  "This  island  lies  at 
a  distance  from  that  of  Santa  Maria  of  eight  leagues  [25.5  nautical  miles]  almost  east  [and]  west." 

Assuming  that  the  masthead  lookout  of  the  flag-ship  was  00  feet  above  the  sea,  the  range 
of  visibility  for  the  horizon  is  8.85  nautical  miles.  There  is  no  part  of  Great  Exuma  over  100  feet 
high,  the  range  of  visibility  of  which  is  11.42  nautical  miles,  total  20.27  miles.(')  The  land  which 
bears  west  from  the  north  end  of  Long  Island  is  the  northwest  end  of  Exuma,  distant  38  miles, 
arid  it  is,  of  course,  invisible.  The  entrance  of  Exuma  harbor,  to  which  Captain  Becher  takes  Co 
lumbus,  pp.  132-133.  is  S.  W.by  W.  21  miles  from  Cape  Santa  Maria,  and  the  island  about  2  miles 
farther.  At  the  distance  of  20  miles  it  is  below  the  horizon,  but  sometimes,  especially  at  night 
fall,  clouds  form  which  make  a  strong  resemblance  to  land. 

Had  Columbus  meant  to  go  from  Santa  Maria  to  the  southward  and  westward,  he  might  be 
lieve  that  he  saw  land  there.  But  he  did  not  sail  in  that  direction ;  he  did  not  "  edge"  to  the  south ; 
he  did  not  "look  along  the  western  shore";  he  reiterates  that  he  saw  laud  to  the  west, and  he  went 
there.  Captain  Becher  easily  satisfies  himself  in  respect  to  the  views  he  holds  in  contradiction  to 
Columbus,  by  saying  that  he  "deceived  himself";  was  "baffling  investigation,"  and  "puzzling 
effectually  the  ingenuity  of  all  geographers." 

Captain  Becher  wrrites  4th,  pages  132-133,  that  Columbus  sailed  from  Exuma  harbor,  "  where 
he  had  now  obtained  water,  *  *  *  about  noon  of  Wednesday,  the  17th  of  October,"  and  "  the 
ships  all  make  sail  on  a  north-northwest  course." 

Pages  134-135:  "When  they  were  about  two  leagues  from  the  cape,  or  extreme  of  the  island, 
he  observes  what  he  supposes  to  be  the  mouth  of  a  river,  and  is  induced  to  anchor  his  ships  off  it. 

*  *     *     Instead  of  a  river  they  find  what  would  be  a  harbor  large  enough  to  contain  all  the  ships 
of  Christendom  (a  favorite  expression  of  Columbus),  if  it  were  not  deficient  in  depth,  a  110  less 
essential  quality,  indeed,  than  superficial  extent  for  the  formation  of  a  harbor.    It  is  described  as 
having  two  entrances  formed  by  an  island,  yet  very  narrow  and  with  little  water  in  them.    The 
harbor,  from  this  description,  seems  to  correspond  with  a  part  of  the  shore  of  the  island  about  ten 
miles  to  the  N.  W.  of  the  former  harbor  (Exuma),  but  is  really  nothing  more  than  the  low  shelving 
shore  of  the  island  covered  to  the  depth  of  a  fen*  feet  by  the  sea." 

Page  137 :  "After  staying  a  couple  of  hours  at  this  anchorage  and  obtaining  water,  the  boats 
return  to  their  ships,  and  Columbus  continues  his  north-northwest  course  along  the  island.  The 

(')  From  the  table  of  distances  at  which  objects  can  be  seen  at  sea  in  nautical  miles — used  by  the  U.  S.  Light 
House  Board. 


40 

wind  meiimvhile  seems  to  have  died  away,  and  the  ships  no  sooner  arrive  off  the  extreme  of  the 
island  than  they  are  becalmed;  not,  however,  very  long,  for  soon  afterwards  it  springs  up  again 
from  the  west-northwest,  which,  as  Columbus  Observes  in  his  journal,  was  fair  for  where  they  had 
come  from,  *  *  *  on  which  he  claps  his  helm  up  and  stands  away  to  the  eastward." 

ANSWER.  When  Columbus  left  Santa  Maria  for  Fernandina,  on  the  16th  of  October,  he  wrote: 
"I  could  not  arrive  in  time  to  see  the  bottom  in  order  to  get  a  clear  anchorage,  a  thing  requiring 
the  greatest  care  in  order  not  to  lose  the  anchors;  in  consequence  I  waited  until  daylight  when  1 
anchored  near  a  village.  *  *  *  And  this  cape  to  which  I  have  come,  and  all  this  coast  runs 
northwest  and  southeast."  October  17th  he  wrote:  "At  midday  I  left  the  village,  where  1  had 
anchored  and  taken  in  water,  in  order  to  sail  around  this  island  of  Fernandina.  *  *  *  I  sailed 
to  the  north-northwest,  and  when  I  was  near  the  end  of  the  island,  two  leagues  off  [G.4  nautical 
miles],  I  found  a  very  marvellous  port  with  an  entrance,  although  it  may  be  said  that  there  are  two 
entrances,  because  it  has  a  rocky  islet  in  the  middle,  and  both  are  very  narrow,  but  within  it  there 
is  ample  room  for  one  hundred  ships  if  it  had  sufficient  depth  of  water  and  was  clear,  and  also  had 
a  deep  entrance:  I  thought  it  worth  while  to  examine  and  sound  it,  and  so  I  anchored  outside  of 
it,  and  went  in  with  all  the  boats  of  the  ships,  and  saw  that  there  was  not  bottom.  And  because  I 
thought  when  I  saw  it  that  it  was  the  mouth  of  some  river  I  had  the  casks  sent  on  shore  for  water. 
*  *  *  After  getting  in  water  1  returned  to  the  ship,  and  set  sail,  and  sailed  to  the  northwest 
until  I  discovered  all  that  part  of  the  island  as  far  as  the  coast  which  runs  east  [and]  west." 

Captain  Becher  anchors  Columbus  off  Exuma  harbor,  where  his  vessels  take  in  some  water. 
He  does  not  say  which  entrance,  but  from  his  track  it  appears  to  be  the  southeast  one.  The  series 
of  connected  harbors  formed  by  Kli/abeth  and  Stocking  islands  and  the  adjacent  cays,  on  the 
northeast  side  of  Exuma,  are  the  best  in  the  'Bahamas.  They  are  from  ^  to  A  a  mile  wide,  and 
have  two  entrances,  7A  miles  apart.  The  southeast  one  has  IS  feet  at  low  water  and  the  north 
west  one  21  feet.  The  tide  rises  1'J,  feet.  Beginning  at  the  southeast  is  Elizabeth  harbor,  with 
from  21  to  23  feet;  Stocking  with  HI;  Conch  1,1  to  1*4,  and  at  the  northwest  Exuma.  with  ;>1. 
These  harbors  are  generally  known  by  the  name  of  "Exuma,"  and  they  will  be  so  called  in  this 
paper.  Captain  Becher  had  the  Admiralty  plans,  and  the  description  of  each,  in  his  office,  and 
therefore  knew  that  Exuma  could  not  be  the  "marvellous  port"  which  Columbus  examined  and 
found  too  shoal.  Hitherto  Columbus  had  been  casting  anchor  on  the  reefs  surrounding  the 
islands,  and  his  anxiety  therefrom  found  expression  in  his  journal  of  the  15th  and  IGth  of  October. 
Can  anyone  be  made  to  comprehend,  that  when  he  had  "voyaged  the  unreal,  vast,  unbounded 
deep,"  and  arrived  off  a  series  of  sheltered  harbors,  lie  did  not  go  in  and  anclwr ;  did  not 
even  mention  them  in  his  journal;  but  sailed  away  from  these,  which  had  sufficient  depth,  to 
the  northwest  1.0  miles,  where  he  found  a  "marvellous  port  which  had  ample  room  for  100  ships" — 
not  "all  the  ships  of  Christendom,"  as  Captain  Becher  translates  it — but  was  too  shallow;  and  that 
this  "marvellous  port"  described  so  minutely  by  Columbus — because  a  harbor  deep  enough  for  his 
vessels  to  enter  was  the  necessity  of  his  situation — Captain  Becher  dismisses  by  saying  that  it  cor 
responds  "  with  a  part  of  the  shore  about  ten  miles  to  the  northwest  of  the  former  harbor  [Exuma], 
but  is  really  nothing  more  than  the  low  shelving  shore  of  the  island  covered  to  the  depth  of  a  few 
feet  by  the  sea." 

If  Columbus's  track  had  been  along  the  shore  of  Exuma,  as  laid  down  by  Captain  Becher,  he 
could  not  have  found  a  port  with  insufficient  water;  he  would  have  discovered  those  excellent  harbors 
ample  for  his  needs,  which  may  be  seen  on  the  British  Admiralty  charts — "Special  plans  of  the 
Bahama  Bank"  and  "  Harbors  of  Great  Exuma,  number  390  " — and  he  would  certainly  have  anchored 
therein. 

Captain  Becher  writes,  5th,  pp.  137-140:  "But  trouble  is  at  hand.  Columbus  says,  he  had 
experienced  rain  every  day  more  or  less  since  he  had  been  among  the  islands.  He  was  now  to  en 
dure  the  discomforts  of  a  heavy  gale,  the  first  he  had  met  with  in  the  New  World.  *  *  *  The 
breeze  before  which  the  Admiral  bore  up  soon  freshens,  and  he  runs  before  it  to  the  E.  S.  E., 
making  good  this  course,  steering  sometimes  east  and  sometimes  southeast,  the  first  part  of  it  to 
keep  off  the  land,  the  courses  being  altered  as  necessary.  The  first  part  of  these  courses  would 
take  him  from  his  position  where  he  bore  up  towards  and  well  clear  of  Cape  Santa  Maria ;  and  with 


41 

the  southeast  course  his  ships  would  bouml  along  before  the  gale  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
outer  shore  of  Long  Island  (the  wind  drawing  northerly  as  he  proceeded),  while  he  was  under  the 
impression,  from  the  direction  in  which  the  southeast  part  of  Exuma  Island  lies,  which  he  had 
seen,  that  the  southern  part  of  Long  Island  was  that  same  Fernandina  he  had  left  on  the  previous 
day.  The  deception  would  be  completed  in  the  mind  of  Columbus,  first,  by  the  direction  in  which 
Exuina  lies,  being  the  same  as  the  southern  part  of  Long  Island ;  and,  next,  by  losing  sight  of  this 
island  when  obscured  at  intervals  of  the  storm  and  by  the  darkness  of  the  night,  in  which  he  was 
either  lying  by  or  running  to  the  southward;  for  the  journal  tells  us  that,  as  the  weather  per 
mitted,  the  ships  continued  running  before  the  wind  towards  the  southeast  point  of  the  island, 
which  having  reached  they  passed  round  it  sufficiently  to  find  shelter,  and  soon  found  a  smooth 
anchorage.  This  mistake  of  the  Admiral  in  believing  that  he  was  now  at  anchor  off  the  southeast 
end  of  Exuma,  which  he  had  named  Fernandina,  when  he  was  really  off  Long  Island,  is  thus  quite 
admissible.  He  had  undergone  the  ordeal  of  a  gale  accompanied  by  heavy  rain,  and  in  the 
obscurity  of  this  and  the  darkness  of  night  he  must  frequently  have  lost  sight  of  the  laud,  anxious 
as  he  was  to  keep  it  on  board,  and  at  the  same  time  fearful  of  getting  too  near  it.  His  conclusion 
was  formed  on  fair  grounds,  but  under  circumstances  which  rendered  him  very  liable  to  be  deceived 
as  he  was;  for  he  was  now  at  anchor  snugly  sheltered  from  the  sea  with  his  fleet  under  the  south 
east  end  of  Long  Island,  or,  as  he  supposed,  Fernandiua,  to  which  island  the  name  Santa  Maria 
has  been  assigned,  as  given  by  himself  to  the  northwest  cape  of  it,  that  of  Fernandina  being  left 
for  Exuma,  on  which  island  it  was  undoubtedly  bestowed  by  the  Admiral." 

ANSWER.  The  substance  of  these  extracts  is,  that  from  the  northwest  end  of  Great  Exuma 
Columbus  made  good  an  E.  S.  E.  course  to  clear  Cape  Santa  Maria,  before  a  wind  which  fresh 
ened  into  a  gale ;  that  during  the  night  of  October  17-18  there  was  a  heavy  gale  accompanied 
by  rain;  that  the  ships  rounded  the  cape  and  "bound  along  before  the  gale  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  outer  shore  of  Long  Island;"  that  sometimes  the  land  was  obscured  by  the  storm  and  the 
darkness  of  the  night ;  and  that  finally  he  arrived  safe  at  the  southeast  end  of  the  island,  but,  for 
reasons  given,  he  believed  he  was  at  anchor  at  the  southeast  end  of  Exuma. 

Columbus,  under  date  of  October  17,  but  obviously  written  on  the  18th,  said :  "And  so  I  turned 
around  and  sailed  all  the  past  night  to  the  east-southeast,  and  sometimes  wholly  east  and  some 
times  to  the  southeast ;  this  I  did  in  order  to  keep  off  the  land  for  the  atmosphere  was  very  misty 
and  the  weather  threatening :  it  [the  wind]  was  light  and  did  not  permit  me  to  reach  the  land  in 
order  to  anchor.  So  that  this  night  it  rained  very  hard  after  midnight  until  almost  day,  and  is 
still  cloudy  in  order  to  rain ;  and  we  [are]  at  the  southeast  cape  of  the  island  where  I  hope  to 
anchor  until  it  gets  clear  in  order  to  see  the  other  islands  where  I  have  to  go."  On  the  18th,  con 
tinuing  these  remark's,  he  wrote,  "  After  it  cleared  up  I  followed  the  wind,  and  went  around  the 
island  as  much  as  I  could,  and  I  anchored  Avheu  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  sail." 

From  the  northwest  end  of  Great  Exuma  to  the  northwest  end  of  Long  Island  it  is  east  38  miles, 
hence  about  S.  E.  by  S.  |  S.  57  to  the  southeast  cape  and  5  more  to  the  south  end ;  total  100  miles. 
The  sun  rose  October  17  at  Gh  20m  and  set  at  5h  40m  apparent  time ;  twilight  lasted  lh  19ra,  so  that 
the  darkness  of  that  night  was  very  little  more  than  10  hours.  It  is  essential  to  Captain  Becher's 
case  that  the  vessels  of  Columbus  shall  be  gotten  to  the  south  cape  of  Long  Island,  but  he  cannot 
take  them  the  shortest  way,  between  Long  Island  and  Exuma,  as  Irving  did,  because  the  surveys 
made  since  he  examined  the  subject  show  this  to  be  impossible.  Therefore  he  seeks  to  extricate 
himself  from  the  dilemma  by  inventing  a  storm  for  the  night  of  October  17-18. 

There  is  not  a  word  in  the  journal  to  authorize  Captain  Becher's  assertion  in  regard  to  the 
weather  of  this  night.  Kettell's  translation,  p.  51,  is  this :  "  The  weather  being  cloudy  and  thick 
it  rained  violently  from  midnight  till  near  day,  and  the  sky  still  remains  cloudy."  Major,  journal 
of  the  Eoyal  Geographical  Society,  volume  xli,  p.  200:  "There  was  little  wind  and  it  did  not  allow 
me  to  put  in  to  anchor.  So  it  rained  very  heavily  fronT  midnight  till  near  daybreak."  Irving,  re 
vised  edition,  Life  of  Columbus,  volume  iii,  appendix:  "  For  the  weather  threatened  a  storm,  which^ 
however,  dissipated  itself  in  rain."  Columbus  says  of  the  wind,  el  erapoco,  "  it  was  light."  All  his 
other  words,  and  his  actions,  show  the  truth  of  this.  He  was  among  islands  which  he  had  observed 
were  surrounded  by  reefs,  and  at  "two  lonibard  shots"  no  bottom;  he  had  felt  the  influence  of  the 
tides,  and  now,  at  night,  wi€h  thick  weather,  but  light  win&s,  his  anxiety  "  to  reach  the  land  in  order 
App.  18 G 


42 

to  anchor,"  and  thus  maintain  his  position  rather  than  drift,  was  what  might  be  expected  of  a  pru 
dent  and  skilful  seaman. 

If  Columbus  had  "made  good"  a  course  E.  S.  E.  from  the  northwest  end  of  Exuma  he  would 
have  run  on  shore  about  12  miles  south  of  the  northwest  end  of  Long  Island.  Little  Exuma,  con 
sidered  by  Captain  Becherto  be  also  Exuma — and  so  allowed  in  this  discussion — lies  west-northwest 
and  east-southeast,  while  the  south  part  of  Long  Island  is  north-northwest  and  south-southeast. 

In  Captain  Becher's  track  from  Kum  Cay  to  Exuma  he  anchors  Columbus,  on  the  evening  of 
October  15,  at  the  northwest  end  of  Long  Island.  The  next  morning  the  Admiral  went  on  shore,  but 
returned  and  sailed  on  or  before  noon.  During  this  short  visit  he  had  no  opportunity  to  inspect 
the  shore  line  of  the  island,  neither  could  he  possibly  know  the  direction  of  that  part  which  lay 
beyond  the  range  of  visibility  from  his  masthead,  a  distance  only  of  8.85  miles  (ante,  p.  39). 

Although  at  this  time  Columbus  had  been  but  four  days  among  the  Bahamas,  he  noted  in  his 
journal  the  dangers  of  the  navigation  and  the  care  which  he  took  to  shun  them. 

Captain  Becher  ought  to  have  reached  the  conviction  that  such  a  seaman  and  navigator  as 
Columbus  would  not  start  his  squadron  from  the  northwest  end  of  Great  Exuma  and  steer  between 
Kum  Cay  and  Conception  on  the  one  side,  and  Long  Island  on  the  other,  and  then  coast  the  whole 
length  of  the  latter  60  miles,  50  of  which  were  unknown  to  him,  in  a  dark  night,  during  a  gale  of  icind, 
in  thick  rainy  weather,  and  so  near  the  coral  reefs  circling  the  island  that  he  saw  the  latter  in  the  inter 
vals  of  the  storm. 

This  night  had  about  ten  hours  of  darkness  (ante,  p.  41),  and  the  distance  run  along  Captain 
Becher's  track  is  100  nautical  miles,  equal  to  10  nautical,  or  about  12  Italian  miles,  every  hour,  an 
unprecedented  speed.  This  might  be  conceded,  but  in  no  circumstances  such  as  Captain  Becher 
mentions  should  a  seaman  attempt  to  steer  for  and  then  haul  around  Long  Island,  except  there 
was  a  light  on  the  northwest  end.  Neither  would  a  seaman  coast  the  shore  of  unknown  land  during 
darkness  and  storm,  no  matter  what  the  urgency  might  be.  The  fruit  of  blundering  seamanship 
like  this  can  be  found  in  the  record  of  shipwrecks  along  the  Bahama  reefs.^) 

In  navigating  among  such  islands  a  commander  is  sometimes  compelled  to  take  the  present 
risk  in  order  to  escape  an  impending  disaster.  But  Captain  Becher  laid  no  such  stress  upon 
Columbus.  He  "bounds  him  along"  the  reef  of  this  coral  island  and  into  the  unknown  darkness, 
as  if  it  was  as  easy  to  do  as.  to  write  about.  He  makes  him  straddle  a  strange  island  during  a 
stormy  night,  and  anchor  witlessly  at  the  end  of  the  wrong  one  in  the  morning. 

The  circumstances  in  which  St.  Paul's  ship  approached  an  unknown  island  during  a  storm  and 
darkness  were  different  from  those  which  Columbus  found  in  the  Bahamas,  but  the  narrative  of 
St.  Luke,  in  the  twenty-seventh  chapter  of  the  Acts,  is  instructive,  because  it  shows  an  excellent 
piece  of  seamanship  performed  at  laud  under  great  strain,  by  which,  although  the  ship  was  lost, 
all  hands  were  saved.(2).  These  ancient  seamen  had  not  learned  to  "bound  along"  the  shores  of 
unknown  lands  in  a  stormy  night.  Their  thoughts  at  such  a  time  were  bent  upon  saving,  not 
risking. 

Captain  Becher  writes,  6th :  That  on  the  19th  of  October  Columbus  went  from  the  south  end 
of  Long  Island  to  the  northwest  end  of  Crooked  and  remained  on  the  west  side  of  that  and  For 
tune,  until  the  24th,  when  he  sailed  to  the  W.  S.  W.,  and  on  the  25th  anchored,  according  to  Captain 
Becher's  chart,  on  the  edge  of  "Columbus  Bank,"  19  miles  E.  £  K  from  the  South  Bagged.  Hence, 
on  the  27th,  he  left  for  Cuba,  steering  S.  S.  W.,  and  on  the  28th  brought  his  vessels  to  in  the  harbor 
of  Nipe. 

Page  131 :  Captain  Becher  speaks  of  the  efforts  which  Irving  and  Humboldt  made  to  establish 
Cat  Island  as  the  first  landfall,  in  this  way:  "In  reality  they  are  so  many  proofs  of  the  want  of 
that  patient  and  discriminate  perusal  of  the  journal  which  it  really  required." 

Of  his  own  work  to  the  Crooked  Island,  he  writes  (pp.  154-155) :  "Thus  far,  then,  among  the 
islands  which  Columbus  first  discovered,  he  has  here  been  traced  by  means  of  the  courses  he  has 
given,  the  corresponding  distances  and  relative  positions  of  those  islands  from  each  other  on  the 

(l)  "The  number  of  wrecks  reported  in  l858-'64  was  313,  of  which  259  were  total  losses." — Report  on  the  Bahamas 
for  the  year  1864,  by  Governor  E.  W.  Rawson. 

(*)  "  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul",  by  James  Smith,  London,  4th  edition.  Revise...  and  corrected  by  Walter 
E.  Smith,  1880,  pp.  134-135. 


43 

chart,  and  the  descriptions  which  he  has  left  recorded  concerning  them  with  a  degree  of  precision 
that  places  his  position  at  any  time  beyond  a  doubt." 

Pages  165-167:  After  arriving  in  Cuba  he  writes:  "Seiior  Navarrete  has  recorded  his  opinion 
that  this  harbor  is  that  now  known  as  the  port  of  Nipe.  Following  the  Admiral  to  it,  as  has  now 
been  done,  it  cannot  be  any  other.  His  track  to  it  from  the  bank  on  which  he  anchored,  the 
description  which  he  has  given  of  it,  and  the  deep  channel  into  it  of  twelve  fathoms  that  no  other 
near  it  possesses,  clearly  proves  that  Navarrete  was  right  here  when  he  declared  that  the  port  of 
San  Salvador  of  Columbus  in  Cuba  is  in  reality  the  port  of  Nipe.  *  *  *  It  was  necessary,  in 
order  to  prove  the  identity  of  the  landfall,  to  accompany  Columbus  from  one  island  to  another  to 
compare  as  he  went  along  his  journal  with  the  chart.  *  *  *  By  the  route  through  which  the 
Admiral  has  been  traced,  his  statements  agree  with  the  chart.  The  islands  mentioned  by  him  can 
be  no  other  than  those  here  pointed  out.  The  track  of  the  Admiral  has  been  so  clearly  designated 
by  himself,  in  direction  at  least,  if  not  by  the  very  compass  point,  as  well  as  the  distances  he  gives, 
which  (with  slight  exceptions,  to  be  attributed  to  blotted  paper)  so  fairly  correspond  with  those  of 
the  chart  that  the  whole  result  deduced  is  at  once  conclusive  and  satisfactory.  *  *  *  A  chain 
of  evidence  is  completed  from  which  there  can  be  no  appeal,  and  which  establishes  the  real  laud- 
all  beyond  the  reach  of  controversy." 

Finally,  speaking  of  Columbus's  journal,  Captain  Becher  writes  (p.  174):  "That  it  is  not  con 
formable  to  the  ancient  opinion  of  Cat  Island  being  the  landfall,  but  undoubtedly  shows  that  Wat- 
ling  Island  was  that  landfall,  and  in  reality  the  island  on  which  Columbus  first  landed  in  the  new 
world.  *  *  *  If  the  island  be  now  unquestionably  pointed  out.  *.  *  *  If  his  earliest  foot 
steps  in  the  new  world  *  *  *  have  now  for  the  first  time  been  successfully  traced,  the  diffi 
cult  task  is  amply  rewarded  by  the  harmony  now  established  between  the  correct  chart  and  the 
journal  of  Columbus,  and  in  having  finally  set  at  rest  the  question  of  the  landfall? 

ANSWER.  From  the  south  end  of  Long  Island  to  Crooked  and  Fortune  islands,  hence  toward 
the  Sand  Islands,  Captain  Becher's  track  is  near  to  mine  and  will  be  referred  to  subsequently. 
Columbus  did  not  anchor  19  miles  E.  f  N.  of  the  Sand  Islands  (Ragged).  His  journal  of  October 
26  reads :  "  He  was  on  the  southern  side  (l)  of  said  islands ;  all  was  shallow  for  5  or  6  leagues 
[15.9  to  19.1  nautical  miles].  He  anchored  there."^) 

I  believe  he  did  not  go  to  port  Nipe  for  the  following  reasons:  From  the  mouth  to  one  mile 
inside  are  these  soundings  in  mid-channel,  39  fathoms,  35,  17,  28,  33,  17  and  18.  See  a  Spanish 
plan  published  by  the  British  Admiralty,  October  25,  1826 ;  corrected  to  1855.  The  journal  of 
October  28  reads:  "  The  mouth  of  the  river  had  12  fathoms." 

The  course  from  the  southern  side  of  Sand  Islands  to  port  Nipe,  is  S.  f  E.  If  the  "two  points 
of  westerly  variation,"  supposed  by  Captain  Becher,  be  applied  to  the  S.  S.  W.  course  steered  by 
Columbus  from  the  Sand  Islands  to  Cuba,  he  would  not  have  fetched  it  by  three-quarters  of  a 
point,  and  there  is/&  westerly  current\alsojtb  overcome. 

The  entrance  to  port  Nipe  looks  east ;  it  cannot  be  seen  on  a  southerly  course  until  one  gets 
to  it.  A  seaman  would  not  run  into  a  lee  bight  unless  he  was  pressed,  or  acquainted  with  the 
land  and  knew  of  a  harbor  at  the  bottom.  Columbus  was  probably  running  before  the  N.  E.  trades 
which  made  this  bight  a  lee  shore.  His  journal  tells  us  that  he  went  "to  the  land  nearest  to  it" 
[him].  Such  would  be  the  act  of  a  discoverer  now.  There  are  two  harbors  west  of  Nipe  that  come 
nearer  to  the  words  of  Columbus's  journal:  Naranjo,  with  13  fathoms  at  the  entrance,  and  Padre 
with  14.  Captain  Becher  might  better  have  taken  either. 

The  British  Admiralty  have  begun  to  adopt  the  conjectures  of  Captain  Becher  on  their  charts, 
even  to  dividing  the  name  of  "Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion,"  which  was  given  by  Columbus.  It 
must  have  come  to  pass  from  the  positiveness  of  his  assertions  and  not  on  account  of  his  argumen 
tation. 

This  method  of  applying  Columbus's  words  in  detail  to  refute  each  of  the  alleged  tracks,  and  the 
study  that  I  gave  to  the  subject  in  the  winter  of  1878-'79  in  the  Bahamas,  which  had  been  familiar 
>-^  cruising  ground  to  me,  haj^ resulted  in  the  selection  of  Samana  or  AtwoodCay  for  the  first  landing- 
place.  It  is  a  little  island  8.8  miles  east  and  west;  1.6  extreme  breadth,  and  averaging  1.2 
north  and  south.  It  has  8.6  square  miles.  The  east  end  is  in  latitude  23°  05'  N. ;  longitude  73° 

(^Italics  are  by  the  writer. 


44 

37'  west  of  Greenwich.  The  reef  011  which  it  lies  is  15  by  24  miles.  On  the  southeast  this  reef 
stretches  half  a  mile  from  the  laud,  on  the  east  four  miles,  ou  the  west  two,  along-  the  north  shore 
one-quarter  to  one-half  of  a  mile,  and  on  the  southwest  scarcely  one  quarter.  Turk  is  smaller 
than  Sam  ana,  and  Cat  very  much  larger.  The  selection  of  two  so  unlike  in  size  shows  that  dimen 
sion  has  not  been  considered  essential  in  choosing  an  island  for  the  first  landfall^1) 

When  Columbus  discovered  Guanahaui,  the  journal  called  it  "little  island."  After  landing 
he  speaks  of  it  as  "bien  grande,"  "very  large,"  which  some  translate,  tolerably,  or  pretty  large. 
November  20,  1492,  Navarrete,  first  edition  (p.  61),  the  journal  refers  to  Isabela,  a  larger  island 
than  Guanahaui,  as  "little  island,"  and  the  5th  of  January  following  (p.  125),  San  Salvador  is 
again  called  "little  island." 

The  Bahamas  have  an  area  of  about  37,000  square  miles,  6  per  cent,  of  which  may  be  land 
enumerated  as  36  islands,  687  cays,  and  2,414  rocks.    The  submarine  bank  upon  which  these  rest 
^underlies  Florida\also./"But  this  peninsula  is  wave-formed  upon  living  corals,  whose  growth  and 
gradual  stretch  toward  the  south  has  been  made  known  by  Agassiz. 

I  had  an  unsuccessful  search  for  a  similar  story  of  the  Bahamas,  to  learn  whether  there  were 
any  probable  changes  within  so  recent  a  period  as  four  hundred  years.  g , 

The  common  mind  can  see  that  all  the  rock /here  is  coral,  none  of  which  is  in  position.  The  .  ff 
surface,  the  caves,  the  chinks,  and  the  numerous  pot-holes  are  compact  limestone,  often  quite 
crystalline,  while  beneath  it  is  oolitic,  either  friable  or  hard  enough  to  be  used  for  buildings.  The 
hills  are  sand-blown,  not  upheaved.  Ou  a  majority  of  the  maps  of  the  sixteenth  century  there 
were  islands  on  Mouchoir,  and  on  Silver  Banks,  where  now  are  rocks  "  awash";  and  the  Dutch  and 
the  Severn  Shoals,  which  lay  to  the  east,  have  disappeared. 

It  is  difficult  to  resist  the  impression  that  the  shoal  banks,  and  the  reefs  of  the  Bahamas,  were 
formerly  covered  with  land ;  and  that  for  a  geological  age  waste  has  been  going  on,  and,  perhaps, 
subsidence.    The  coral  polyp  seems  to  be  doing  only  desultory  work,  and  th^t  mostly  on  the  north-     ^iS 
east  f  r  Atlantic  side  of  the  islands;  everywhere  else  it  has  abandoned  the  field  to  the  erosive 
action  of  the  waves. 

Columbus  said  that  Guanahani  had  abundance  of  water  and  a  very  large  lagoon  in  the  middle 
of  it.  He  used  the  word  laguna — lagoon,  not  lago — lake.  His  arrival  in  the  Bahamas  was  at  the 
height  of  the  rainy  season.  Governor  Rawsou's  Report  on  the  Bahamas,  1864,  p.  92,  Appendix  4, 
gives  the  annual  rainfall  at  Nassau  for  ten  years,  1855-'64,  as  64  inches.  From  May  1  to  November 
1  is  the  wet  season,  during  which  44.7  inches  fall;  the  other  six  inonthsflO .3\ojil.v./^The  most  is  in 
October,  8.5  inches.  Audros,  the  largest  island,  1,600  square  miles,  is  the  only  one  that  has  a 
stream  of  water.  The  subdivision  of  the  land  into  so  many  islands  and  cays,  the  absence  of  moun 
tains,  the  showery  characteristic  of  the  rainfall,  the  porosity  of  the  rock,  and  the  great  heat  reflected 
from  the  white  coral,  are  the  chief  causes  for  the  want  of  running  water.  During  the  rainy  season 
the  "abundance  of  water"  collects  in  the  low  places,  making  ponds  ami  lagoons  that  afterward 
are  soaked  up  by  the  rock  and  evaporated  by  the  sun.  Turk  and  Watling  have  lagoons  of  a  more 
permanent  condition,  because  they  are  maintained  from  the  ocean  by  permeation.  The  lagoon 
which  Columbus  found  at  Guanahani  had  certainly  undrinkable  water,  or  he  would  have  gotten 
some  for  his  vessels,  instead  of  putting  it  off  until  he  reached  the  third  island.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  journal  to  indicate  that  the  lagoon  at  Guauahani  was  aught  but  the  flooding  of  the  low  j^ 
grounds  by  excessive  raiiis;  and  even  if  it  was  one  communicating  with  the  ocean,  its  absence  ^  frt^ 
now  may  be  referred  to  the  effect  of  those  agencies  which  are  working  incessantly  to  reshape  the 
soft  structure  of  the  Bahamas. 

Samana  has  a  range  of  hills  on  the  southwest  side  about  100  feet  high,  and  on  the  northeast 
another,  lower.    Between  them,  and  also  along  the  north  shore,  the  land  is  low,  and  during  the 

(')I  am  indebted  to  T.  J.  McLain.esq.,  United  States  consul  at  Nassau,  for  the  following  information  given  to 
him  by  the  captains  of  this  port,  who  visit  Samaua  or  Atwood  Cay.  The  sub-sketch  on  this  chart  is  substantially  cor 
rect  :  Good  water  is  obtained  only  by  sinking  wells.  The  two  cays  to  the  east  are  covered  with  guano;  white  boobies 
hold  the  larger  one,  and  black  boobies  the  other;  neither  intermingle.  The  island  is  now  uninhabited,  but  arrow 
heads  and  stone  hatchets  are  sometimes  found ;  and  in  places  there  are  piles  of  stone  supposed  to  have  been  made  by 
the  aborigines.  Most  of  the  growth  is  scrubby,  with  a  few  scattered  trees.  The  Nassau  vessels  enter  an  opening 
through  the  reef  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  and  find  a  very  comfortable  little  harbor  with  from  2  to  2£  fathoms  of 
water.  From  here  they  send  their  boats  on  shore  to  "  strip  "  gnauo,  and  cut  satin,  dye  woods,  and  bark. 


45 

season  of  rains  there  is  a  row  of  ponds  parallel  to  the  shore.  On  the  south  side  a  conspicuous 
white  bluff  looks  to  the  southward  and  eastward.  The  two  cays,  lying  respectively  half  a  mile  and 
3  miles  east  of  the  island,  and  possibly  the  outer  breaker,  which  is  four  miles,  all  might  have  been 
connected  with  each  other,  and  with  the  island,  four  hundred  years  ago.  In  that  event  the  most 
convenient  place  for  Columbus  to  anchor  in  the  strong  N.  E.  trade- wind,  was  where  I  have  put 
an  anchor  on  the  sub-sketch  of  Samaua. 

He  did  not  note  the  direction  of  the  wind  while  running  for,  nor  when  at  Guauahani.  I  feel 
confident  that  it  was  the  N.  E.  trade,  since  he  gives  the  epood  of  tko  vossole  from  sunset  (5h  41m)  eft. 
until  2  a.  m.  the  next  morning — October  11-12 — as  22£  leagues— 79£  nautical  miles — which  is  at  the 
#>-  rate  of  O^miles  per  hour,  an  unusual  speed,  and  plainly  indicating  that  he  was  running  with  a 
strong  quartering  wind  under  all  sail,  with  fine  weather.  The  "trades"  generally  freshen  near  the 
islands,  but  they  are  always  in  the  eastern  quarter.  In  the  Bahamas  they  break  up  and  are  very 
light  at  east  and  southeast,  but  frequently  blow  strong  when  they  get  to  the  southward  and 
westward,  and  the  circuit  ends  with  heavy  squalls  from  the  northward  and  westward;  afterward 
north  and  northeast  winds  and  fine  weather  prevail. 

Columbus  had  none  of  the  strong  winds  from  a  western  quarter,  because  he  was  steering  west. 
If  the  weather  had  not  been  fine  he  could  not  have  seen  the  light  at  10  p.  m. — "like  a  small  wax 
candle."(v)  Neither  could  he  have  discovered  the  land  at  -2  a.  m.,  2  leagues — 6.4  miles  distant^ 
Varnhagen  (note  I,  p.  16)  says  the  "moon  shown  bright,  and  a  sailor  saw  by  its  light  a  white  point; 
fired  his  lombard ;  called  out  laud."  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  Professor  William  Harkness,  United 
States  Navy,  of  the  Naval  Observatory  at  Washington,  for  the  moon's  place.  It  was  full  October 
5,  O.  S.,  1492,  at  10h  58m  p.  m.,  Greenwich  mean  time.  It  rose  the  llth  of  October  at  11  p.  m.,  and 
at  2  a.  m.,  when  the  laud  was  sighted,  it  was  39°  high,  latitude  5°  S.,  longitude  106°  03'.  Those 
who  were  admonished  by  the  admiral  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  from  the  forecastle  were,  of  course, 
looking  ahead — west — and  the  moon,  then  nearly  at  &a  third  quarter,  was  partly  behind  them  and 
shone  directly  upon  the  white  bluff.  This  was  most  favorable  for  seeing  the  land  at  night,  and  it 
is  a  memorable  fact  that  Columbus  first  saw  the  New  World  through  the  light  of  the  moon. 

In  the  journal  of  the  14th  of  October  the  Admiral  wrote  that  he  "  went  along  the  island,  in  a 
north-northeasterly  direction,  to  see  the  other  side,  which  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  east."  The 
same  date  he  said  that  iu  going  along  in  the  boats  he  "  found  a  piece  of  land,  like  an  island,  although 
it  was  not  one,  with  six  houses  on  it,  which  in  two  days  could  easily  be  cut  off'  and  converted  into  an 
island."  The  first  quotation  is  the  language  of  a  seaman  who  had  anchored  under  a  jutting  point 
of  land  which,  stretched  to  the  eastward  and  was  in  sight;  he  could  see  one  side  as  far  as  the  east 
end,  but  he  desired  to  see  the  other  side  of  the  east  end.  Columbus  was  at  anchor  on  an  open  coast ; 
each  vessel  had  but  one  boat,  see  Appendix  E,  and  he  took  all  thfc  boats  for  his  exploration  of  the 
14th.  For  this  reason,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  sea,  he  ought  not  to  withdraw  far  from  his 
ships.  The  second  quotation  confirms  the  first,  as  to  his  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  peninsula. 
Both  agree  well  with  the  east  end  of  Samana.  The  point  of  land  that  Columbus  said  could  easily 
be  cut  off  has  already  been  separated  by  the  erosion  of  the  waves.  See  sub-sketch  of  Samana. 

It  seems  a  weighty  objection  to  Samana,  that  this  name  appears  on  the  noted  map  of  Juan  de 
la  Cosa,  together  icith  Guanahaui.  La  Cosa  was  the  companion  of  Columbus — seaman,  chart- 
maker,  pilot,  master,  and  he  made  six  voyages  to  the  New  World.  It  is  said  of  him  in  Disquisi- 
ciones  Nauticas,  por  el  Capitan  de  Navio,  Cesareo  Fernandez  Duro,  Madrid,  1876,  Tom.  I,  p.  59 :  "In 
the  first  voyage  of  Christopher  Columbus,  La  Cosa  went  as  master  of  his  vessel,  the  same  on  which 
that  officer  served  until  it  was  wrecked  in  the  Antilles :  on  the  second  he  went  likewise  on  board 
the  caravel  Nina  styling  himself  master  of  chart-making,  and  in  returning  from  this  latter  he  was 
obliged  to  undertake  in  the  port  of  Santa  Maria  the  long  and  minute  labor  of  making  the  chart  which 
was  finished  in  the  year  1500."  In  1832  Baron  de  Humboldt«B4/B~aron  de  Walckenaeflfound  in  the 
library  of/The  latter  an  illuminated  map  skilfully  drawn  on  an  ox-hide.  It  measured  5  feet  9 
inches  by  3  feet  2  inches,  was  iu  good  preservation,  and  bore  the  signature  of  La  Cosa,  and  the 

(')  Columbus  met  at  Guanahani  with  canoes  which  held  45  men.  The  natives  went  in  them  as  far  as  Cuba;  they 
were  fishermen  and  sailors,  and  the  light  of  October  11  might  have  been  in  a  canoe.  Irvin^puts  it  on  Watling;  but 
Columbus  was  steering  west,  and  if  a  line  is  drawn  east,  from  the  southeast  point  of  Cat,  Irving's  landfall,  it  will  go 
through  the  reefs  north  of  Watling. 


date  1500.  A  fac-simile  was  printed  without  notes,  in  Paris,  from  1854-'60,  for  Jomard's  work,  titled 
Les  monuments  de  la  geographic,  &c.  Copies  are  in  the  principal  libraries  of  the  United  States. 
This  map  has  sustained  the  scrutiny  and  disputation  of  nearly  a  half  a  century,  and  the  belief 
widens  that  it  is  the  genuine  work  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa  (1).  The  most  suggestive  figure  thereon  is 
Guanahani,  since  it  has  the  same  relative  situation  that  Sauiaua  holds  on  modern  maps;  both  are 
little,  narrow,  east-and-west,  outlying  islands,  such  as  cannot  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  neighborhood. 
If  La  Cosa  went  with  Columbus  on  the  first  voyage,  he  lay  three  days  at  Guanahani,  and  because  he 
was  "  master  of  chart-making,"  his  sketch  of  the  first  island  should  be  true  in  respect  to  comparative 
size  and  exceptional  position.  A  line  drawn  on  the  Appendix  Chart,  from  the  east  end  of  Cuba, 
north  a  little  easterly,  to  Samana,  touches  only  Acklin,  one  of  the  Crooked  island  group.  A  similar 
line  drawn  on  La  Cosa's  map,  reaches  Guanahani  by  passing  through  one  large  roundish  island 
marked  Sainaua.  Therefore,  according  to  La  Cosa,  Samana  was  an  interior  island,  much  larger 
than  Guauahani,  unlike  it  in  shape,  situated  near  and  in  a  southerly  direction  from  it,  about  where 
Crooked  and  Acklin  now  are ;  whereas  Samana  on  the  present  charts  is  applied  to  the  little  east- 
and-west  island  lying  outside  of  the  Crooked  group.  These  facts  and  the  disappearance  of  Guana 
hani  from  modern  maps,  led  me  to  suspect  and  search  for  proofs  of  a  transfer  of  this  strange  name 
of  Samana. 

Map  of  New  Spain,  by  Nicolaus  Vallard,  of  Dieppe,  1547:  [reproduction  by  J.  G.  Kohl,  in  the 
library  of  the  Department  of  State.]  "  Gamana  "  [Samana]  is  an  interior  island. 

Theatrum  Orbis  Terrarum :  Abraham  Ortelius,  Antwerp,  1572.  Guanahany  is  an  outside  island 
and  southwest  of  it,  among  others,  is  Samana. 

Karte  von  Thomas  Hood,  die  Ostkiiste  von  Nordamerika  bis  zur  Landenge  von  Panama,  1592. 
Plate  XIII.  Atlas  zur  Entdeckungsgeschichte  Amerikas.  Am  Handschriften  der  k.  Hof-  und  Staats- 
Bibliothek  etc.  Munich.  Samana  an  interior  and  Guanahani  an  exterior  island. 

Descripcion  de  las  Indias  occidentales  de  Antonio  Herrera,  &c.,  Madrid,  1726 — 30,  vol.  1,  pp.  6-7 : 
Here  is  a  map  of  the  Bahamas  of  the  date  of  1601,  on  which  Guanahani  is  an  exterior  island,  and 
to  the  southward  and  westward  is  Samana,  an  interior  one. 

Karte  der  Ostkiiste  von  Amerika  von  Neubraunschweig  bis  zum  Amazonenstrome.  Plate  X  of 
Atlas  zur  Entdeckungsgesch.  Am.  Munich.  "Samano"  [Samana]  an  interior  island. 

Carte  du  Mexique  et  de  la  Floride  par  Guillaume  Del'Isle.  Paris  1703.  Samaua,  an  interior 
island. 

Map  of  North  America,  by  John  Senex,  Charles  Price,  John  Maxwell,  geographers,  1710 :  The 
present  group  of  Crooked  and  Acklin  is  marked  "  Samana  or  Krooked."  Guanahani  is  a  separate 
island. 

An  Accurate  Map  of  North  America.  *  *  *  Also  all  the  West  India  Islands,  by  Eman. 
Bowen,  Geographer  to  His  Majesty;  and  John  Gibson,  engraver.  1733?  I.  Samana,  Crooked, 
Fortune,  and  Ackliu's  form  one  group.  Outside  of  these  is  Atwood's  Key.  This  map  is  in  vol.  i 
Old  Maps  of  America,  No.  20.  Library  of  Congress. 

Atlas  Historique,  par  Heuri-Abrah.  Chatelain,  7  vols.  Amsterdam:  In  vol.  vi  (1738)  the 
present  place  of  Crooked  group  is  marked  u  I.  Samana." 

dJAnville>8  Maps  of  1731,  1746,  and  1794:  The  present  Crooked  group  is  marked  "Samana  ou 
Krooked."  Guanahani  is  a  separate  island. 

G.  Delisle  and  P.  Buache.  Map  of  the  Bahamas.  1740.  In  a  volume  of  maps,  Library  of 
Congress.  I.  Croqued,  Fortune,  and  Acklin  are  strung  along  northwest  and  southeast.  To  the 
northeast  of  Croqued  is  a  small  island  marked  "I.  Nova."  It  is  near  the  present  place  of  Samana. 
I  have  not  met  this  name  before.  On  page  80  of  this  volume  is  a  map  in  which  Samana  appears 
as  one  of  the  Crooked  Island  group. 

Bellin.  1750.  Authority,  J.  Carson  Brevoort,  esq. :  "  Samana  appears  to  be  the  northeast 
part  of  Crooked  I." 

Homann,  Johannes  Baptista,  Atlas  Geographicus  Major.  2  vols.  Nuremberg,  1759.  Vol.  i, 
p.  147.  The  present  place  of  Crooked  group  is  marked  Samana  I. 

The  West-India  Atlas,  by  the  late  Thomas  Jefferys.  Geographer  to  the  King.    MDCCLXXV. 

(*)  In  Stevens' s  Historical  and  Geographical  Roles,  referred  to  farther  on,  the  reader  will  find  the  objections  to  La 
Cosa's  map  satisfactorily  answered. 


47 

Chart  8.  The  present  Samana  is  marked  "el  Terrigo  or  Atwood's  Key,  the  Samana  of  the  French." 
To  the  southwest  is  "Samana  or  Crooked  Island." 

Tour  through  the  British  West  Indies,  1802-3,  Dan'l  McKinnen,  London,  1804,  p.  149 :  "Samana, 
spell  Sumana,  ancient  Indian  name  of  French  charts ;  probably  the  original  name  of  Crooked  island." 

These  citations  might  be  increased,  but  are  they  not  enough  to  prove  that  the  name  of  Samana 
has  been  shifted  from  an  interior  to  an  exterior  island,  from  the  present  Crooked  group  to  the 
present  Atwood  Cay,  thus  surmounting  a  scholarly  obstacle  in  the  way  of  selecting  Samana  for 
the  first  landing-place!  Columbus  does  not  use  this  name.  It  appears  first  on  La  Cosa's  map? 
for  the  island  spoken  of  above,  and  also  for  the  name  of  a  bay  on  the  northeast  part  of  Hayti, 
which  retains  it  now,  but  Columbus  called  it  Golfo  de  las  Flechas:  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  p.  139.  An 
inquiry  in  regard  to  this  name  would  be  worth  pursuing,  but  it  does  not  belong  to  a  discussion 
of  the  first  landfall.  On  the  13th  of  October,  the  day  before  the  Admiral  left  Guanahani,  he 
wrote  :  "I  determined  to  wait  until  to-morrow  evening,  and  then  to  sail  for  the  southwest."  This 
is  all  the  information  the  journal  gives  in  respect  to  the  course  steered  from  the  first  island.  The 
inference  is  that  he  went  as  he  said  he  should  go,  because  he  understood  that  gold  could  be  gotten 
in  that  direction.  But  the  proof  shall  be  supplied  by  the  subsequent  agreements  between  the  journal 
and  the  physical  facts. 

After  he  fcpileft  Guanahani  he  saw  so  many  islands  that  he  was  undecided  which  to  sail  for 
first,  but  he  determined  to  make  for  the  largest.  A  vessel  that  leaves  the  east  part  of  Samana  and 
steers  to  the  southward  with  some  westing  comes  into  view  of  the  hills  of  Plana  Cays,  Acklin,  and 
Crooked,  on  bearings  from  south-southeast  to  west  by  south,  and  to  a  stranger  these  hills  would 
appear  like  so  many  islands.  Aftor  Columbus^nchored  at  the  second  island  he  wrote  that  it  was 
five  leagues,  rather  seven — 15.9  or  22.3  nautical  miles — from  the  first.  The  northeast  end  of  Ack- 
lin  bears  S.  W.  by  S.  J  S.,  23  nautical  miles  from  the  east  part  of  Samana.  For  this  discussion  I 
consider  Acklin  and  Crooked  to  be  one  island,  under  the  name  of  Crooked.  The  channel  which 
separates  them  is  of  modern  origin,  no  doubt/  ,R  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  made  by  ero- 
sion ;  it  is  so  shallow  that  it  can  be  waded  across,  even  at  high  water,  and  it  is  invisible  to  a 
passing  vessel.  See  chart  and  sub-sketch. 

Columbus  wrote  that  the  second  island  had  a  north-and-south  side  15.9,  and  one  east  and  west 
over  31.8  miles  long.  Crooked  has  a  north-and-south  side  13,  and  another  which  runs  west  by 
north  and  east  by  south  29  miles.  A  navigator  of  to-day  could  not  come  nearer  to  the  truth,  in 
describing  the  island  in  like  circumstances ;  but  Columbus  kept  his  time  with  a  sand-glass,  and 
reckoned  his  speed  by  the  eye.  I  wish  the  reader  to  take  heed  that  it  is  the  second  island,  and  no 
other,  of  which  the  journal  records  the  length  and  trend  of  two  separate  sides ;  and  that  Crooked  is 
the  only  one  in  the  Bahamas  which  conforms  to  this  description. 

A  seeming  objection  to  Crooked  arises  from  the  language  in  the  journal  of  the  15th  of 
October,  that  the  side  -of  the  second  island  toward  San  Salvador  ran  north  and  south,  whereas  the 
side  of  Crooked  which  is  in  the  direction  of  Samana  runs  east  and  west.  Columbus  could  not  note 
this  fact  at  the  first  island,  because  Crooked  is  not  visible  from  bis  anchorage  there.  After  leaving 
Guanahani  he  saw  many  islands,  and  made  for  the  largest.  As  he  stood  off  and  on  all  night,  and 
the  tide  detained  him  on  the  15th  till  about  noon,  he  might  have  noted  the  side  he  then  came  to. 
This  is  the  understanding  of  E.  H.  Major,  who,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  vol. 
xli,  p.  198,  translates  the  passage  thus:  "  I  found  that  the  face  of  it,  on  the  side  toward  San  Salva 
dor  [or  rather,  I  would  suggest,  on  the  side  approached  by  the  ships  in  coming  from  San  Salvador], 
ran  north  and  south  five  leagues,  and  the  other  side  which  I  coasted  ran  east  and  west  ten  leagues." 

From  the  data  kindly  supplied  by  the  officers  of  the  Naval  Observatory  in  Washington,  I  learn 
that  the  moon  crossed  the  meridian  of  Crooked  Island  on  the  14th  of  October,  1492,  at  6h  36m  a.  m., 
Civil  time.  The  British  Admiralty  Tide  Tables  for  1881  give  VII  o'clock  for  the  "Establishment 
of  the  Port"  at  Crooked.  Therefore  it  was  high  water  there  on  the  14th  of  October  at  lh  36m  p. 
m.;  low  at  7h  48m,  high  at  2  a.  m.  on  the  15th;  low  at  8h  12m  and  high  at  2b  24m  p.  m.  The  sun  set 
at  5b  40™  and  twilight  lasted  about  lh  19m.  The  journal  does  not  give  the  wind  at  Guanahani,  nor 
until  the  16th,  at  the  second  island,  when  it  is  entered  as  S.  E.  I  believe  I  have  proved  on  p.  45 
that  Columbus  made  the  land  on  the  12th  of  October  with  a  strong  N.  E.  trade ;  and  the  invariable 
circuit  of  winds  alluded  to  on  that  page  would  give  light  easterly  ones,  sometime  from  the  12th  to 


48 

the  16th.  During  the  regular  "  trades"  the  current  between  Samana  and  Crooked  flows  W.  N.  W. 
a  knot  an  hour ;  but  at  other  times  the  set  and  drift  are  uncertain.  On  the  north  side  of  Crooked 
the  flood  tide  runs  always  to  the  eastward  and  the  ebb  contrarily.  When  Columbus  neared  the 
second  island  he  estimated  it  to  be  15.9  miles  from  the  first ;  but  the  next  day  he  called  it  22.3.  In 
the  mean  time  he  was  detained  by  the  tide  so  that  he  did  not  reach  it  again  until  about  noon. 
Captain  Becher  (pp.  111-345)  said  that  this  detention  was  "set  of  the  current";  but  Columbus 
used  the  word  marea,  not  corrie'nte ;  the  former  signifies  tide,  flux  and  reflux;  the  latter  current, 
progressive  motion  of  the  water;  a  distinction  held  in  both  languages  and  especially  among  sea 
men,  and  one  of  importance  here. 

These  facts,  in  connection  with  the  journal,  enable  me  to  offer  a  reasonable  theory  as  to  the 
movements  of  his  vessels  on  the  14th  and  15th  of  October.  He  left  the  south  side  of  the  east 
part  of  Samana  on  the  14th,  undoubtedly  after  noon ;  and  steered  to  the  southward  and  west 
ward,  with  light  easterly  winds,  for  Crooked.  Midway  he  found  the  usual  westerly  current,  and 
on  the  other  side  he  ran  into  a  stronger  one  setting  in  the  same  direction ;  but  this  was  the  ebb  tide 
which  flowed  west,  along  the  north  shore  of  Crooked,  from  lh  36m  to  7h  48"1  p.  m.  He  did  not  reach 
the  land  in  time  to  see  his  anchoring-ground  before  dark,  and  the  night  was  moonless.  In  conse 
quence,  he  began,  about  sunset  (5h  40m),  to  stand  off  and  on ;  that  is,  he  beat  to  the  eastward  to 
overcome  this  westerly  set  and  keep  his  place  until  morning,  when  he  intended  to  run  in  and  an 
chor.  At  7h  48'"  p.  m.  the  tide  turned  and  flowed  east  until  2  a.  m.  on  the  15th.  So  that  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night  he  had,  unknowingly,  six  hours  and  twelve  minutes  of  current,  contrary  to 
that  for  which  he  was  allowing.  In  this  way  he  got  so  far  to  the  eastward  that  it  was  noon  before 
he  reached  the  island  again ;  when  he  coasted  the  north  shore  and  near  sunset  anchored  at  the 
west  end.  On  the  following  day,  the  16th,  he  wrote  his  journal  of  the  15th,  by  which  time  he  had 
observed  the  distinction  between  the  currents  and  tides  in  the  neighborhood  of  Crooked,  and  he 
noted  the  one  which  caused  his  detention. 

The  second  island  of  Columbus  has  been  such  a  stumbling-block  to  investigators  that  many 
of  them  assert  that  he  sighted  it,  but  passed^on  without  otopping.  See  translation  from  Munoz, 
ante,  p.  36,  and  discussion  with  Captain  Becher,  ante,  p.  37.  Major  (p.  198)  wrote:  "Here  I 
beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  Columbus  neither  lands  upon  nor  gives  any  name 
to  the  first  island  which  he  reaches  after  leaving  Guanahani,  a  fact  which  argues  its  unim 
portance  and  sanctions  our  assuming  it  to  be  Eum  Cay."  The  weight  of  these  authorities  makes 
it  necessary  for  me  to  try  to  answer  them  before  I  go  on.  The  following  paragraph  from  the 
Spanish  text  of  the  journal  is  the  authority  upon  which  Major  and  Captain  Becher  found  their 
assertion  that  Columbus  did  not  land  upon  the  second  island  (Navarrete,  1st  edition,  p.  25,  Octo 
ber  15,  and  ante,  p.jfe):  "  Ycomo  desta  isla  vide  otra  mayor  al  Oueste,  cargue  las  velas  por  andar  todo 
aquel  dia  fasta  la  noche,  porque  aim  no  pudiera  haber  andado  al  cabo  del  Oueste."  Major's  transla 
tion  (p.  198)  is :  "And  as  from  this  island  I  saw  another  larger  one  to  the  .west,  I  started  for  the 
purpose  of  sailing  the  whole  of  that  day  until  night,  for  otherwise  I  could  not  have  reached  the 
westernmost  cape."  Captain  Becher  (p.  109)  renders  it:  "And  as  from  this  island  I  saw 
another  larger  one  to  the  westward,  I  made  sail,  continuing  on  until  night ;  for  as  yet  I  had  not 
arrived  at  the  western  cape."  Mr.  Thomas's  translation,  which  I  have  adopted,  is :  "  And  as  from 
this  island  I  saw  another  larger  one  to  the  west,  I  cletced  up  the  sails,  for  I  had  gone  all  that  day 
until  night,  because  I  could  not  yet  have  gone  to  the  western  cape."  The  essential  difference  is 
with,  cargut  las  velas.  Major  makes  it,  "  I  started  ";  Captain  Becher,  "  I  made  sail" ;  and  Thomas, 
"I  clewed  up  the  sails."  In  Diccionario  Maritime  Espanol,  etu.,por  D.  Jose de Lorenzo,  I).  Gonznlo 
de  Murga  y  I).  Martin  Ferreiro,  Empleados  en  la  Direccion  de  Hidrografiti,  Madrid,  1864,  the  defini 
tion  agrees  with  that  given  by  Mr.  Thomas.  So  of  all  other  Spanish  dictionaries  which  I  can  find. 
I  have  also  submitted  the  phrase  to  Spanish  officers  with  like  result.  The  signification  is,  to  clew 
up,  or  brail  up ;  that  is,  take  in  sail.  A  similar  expression  occurs  in  the  first  part  of  the  journal 
of  October  15:  "I  had  been  standing  off  and  on  this  night  fearing  to  approach  the  shore  for 
anchorage  before  morning  not  knowing  whether  the  coast  would  be  clear  of  shoals,  and  intending 
to  clew  up — cargar  velas — at  dawn."  If  he  had  been  hove  to  all  night  he  might  have  written 
"  I  will  make  sail  in  the  morning";  but  as  he  was  standing  off  and  on,  the  two  clauses — u  Fearing 


49 

to  approach  the  shore  for  anchorage  before  morning,"  and  "Intending  to  clew  up  at  dawn",  are 
connected,  and  the  meaning  of  cargar  velas  in  the  latter  is  obviously  to  take  in,  not  to  make  sail. 

The  proof  that  he  stopped  at  the  second  island  does  not  depend  upon  the  signification  of  any 
one  phrase,  but  upon  the  concord  existing  between  the  journal  and  the  cartographic  facts.  Co 
lumbus  promised  in  his  Prologue  (see  Appendix  D)  that  he  would  mark  "each  night  my  progress 
during  the  day  and  each  day  the  run  made  during  the  night.'7  But  it  can  be  readily  understood 
that  he  had  no  regular  time  for  writing  his  journal  among,  the  Bahamas,  where  the  navigation  is  diffi 
cult  and  whore  the  Indians  thronged  upon  him  as  coming  from  heaven.  This  appears  upon  read 
ing  the  remarks  under  October  11,  the  day  before  seeing  Guanahani.  All  the  journal  of  that  day — 
with  the  exception  of  the  first  forty-seven  lines— refers  to  transactions  which  took  place  on  the 
12th,  a  date  omitted  from  the  journal.  From  the  closing  paragraph  of  the  13th  it  seems  that 
most  of  his  Guanahani  log  was  written  near  sunset  of  that  day.  He  says :  "At  this  moment  it  is 
dark  and  all  went  on  shore  in  their  canoes."  The  14th  was  written  in  the  afternoon,  during  the 
leisure  which  came  to  him  from  being  at  sea,  clear  of  the  land  and  the  inhabitants.  He  wrote 
then :  "  I  looked  for  the  largest  one  and  determined  to  make  for  it,  and  I  am  so  doing."  (!)  It  is 
important  that  I  should  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  all  the  journal  of  the  15th  was  certainly 
written  on  the  16th.  He  entered  no  remarks  on  the  loth.  Under  this  date,  which  was  Monday, 
he  wrote:  "I  anchored  and  remained  until  to-day  Tuesday^)  when  at  dawn  I  went  on  shore  with 
the  boats  armed."  Same  date,/farther  on, (Jj5thy1ie~  writes :  "And  soon  after  I  set  sail  for  the  other 
large  island."  He  could  not  have  done  so  except  on  the  16th,  the  day  he  wrote  this.  His  story  in 
the  journal  of  the  15th  is  certainly  the  experience  of  the  16th.  For  example :  near  the  close  of 
the  remarks  of  the  15th  he  writes :  "And  being  in  the  Gulf  midway  between  these  two  islands 
namely  that  of  Santa  Maria  and  this  large  one,  to  which  I  give  the  name  of  la  Fernandiua."  No 
one  can  fail  to  see  that  this  circumstance,  and  those  immediately  preceding  it,  belong  to  the  16th, 
although  found  under  date  of  the  15th.  His  journal  of  the  16th  begins  with  the  statement  that 
he  left  Santa  Maria  for  Fernandiua  about  noon,  an  assertion  repeated  twice  on  the  15th,  but  which 
could  not  have  been  put  into  execution  until  the  16th.  A  study  of  the  journal  of  the  loth  and 
16th  shows  that  his  first  leisure  was  the  afternoon  of  the  16th,  in  the  calm  weather  between  the 
two  islands,  and  then  he  wrote  the  journal  of  the  loth.  That  of  the  16th  was  not  written  until  the 
17th,  for  he  writes  under  the  former  date  about  sending  the  ship's  boat  on  shore  for  water  at  9 
a.  m. — certainly  on  the  17th.  A  little  4flrte*  in  the  journal  of  the  16th  he  says:  "Soon  after  writing 
this  I  set  sail  with  a  south  wind."  As  he  did  not  arrive  at  the  island  to  which  this  refers  until 
the  morning  of  the  17th,  see  first  part  of  the  journal  of  this  day,  it  is  obvious  that  it  was  of  the 
17th — not  the  16th — that  he  was  speaking.  The  student  who  is  attentive  to  the  journal  will  notice 
that  Columbus  wrote  it  when  he  could  find  time — to  all  appearance  at  one  sitting,  as  a  very  busy 
sailor  would  do.  This  led  him  often  to  set  down  the  matter  of  several  days  under  one  date,  and 
he  seems  not  to  have  overhauled  his  log  to  see  whether  it  was  at  variance  with  itself. 

Kemembering,  then,  that  all  the  things  done  on  the  15th  were  recorded  on  the  16th — after  he 
fot4  left  the  second  island — they  might  be  put  into  a  concise  and  truthful  statement  as  follows : 
Columbus  explored  Guanahani  in  the  boats  before  noon  of  the  14th,  and  sailed  after  noon  to  the 
southward  and  westward,  the  direction  of  the  gold.  Many  islands  coming  shortly  into  sight,  he 
made  for  the  largest,  but  did  not  reach  it  in  time  to  see  the  anchoring-ground  before  dark.  The 
wind  being  light  from  the  eastward,  and  a  strong  current  running  west,  he  decided  to  stand  off 
and  on,  or  beat  to  the  eastward,  to  hold  his  position  during  the  night,  that  he  might  anchor  in  the 
morning  at  that  part  of  the  island  which  he  had  seen  before  dark.  The  next  forenoon,  the  15th,  he 
found  himself  so  far  to  the  eastward  that  it  was  noon  before  he  got  back.  He  observed  two  sides 
of  the  island,  one  north  and  south,  five  leagues ;  the  other,  east  and  west,  over  ten.  He  approached 
the  first,  but  as  it  was  a  lee-shore  he  followed  the  other  all  the  afternoon,  arriving  at  the  western 
cape  about  sunset,  whence  he  saw  another  large  island  to  the  west.  Not  wishing  to  be  under  weigh 
again  at  night,  among  the  tides  and  currents,  and  the  wind  having  canted  to  the  southward  and 
eastward,  which  gave  him  a  weather  shore  to  anchor  under,  he  clewed  up  his  sails  and  came  to. 
On  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  the  16th,  he  went  on  shore  to  explore  the  island,  but,  as  the  wind 
increased  from  the  S.  E.,  and  his  ships  were  riding  to  a  weather  tide,  they  were  liable  to  be  set 

(*)  Italics  by  the  writer. 
App.  18 7 


50 

across  it  and  foul  their  anchors :  ante,  p.  1C,  note  2.  The  Admiral  observing  this  from  the  shore, 
returned  and  weighed  anchor  before  or  at  noon,  for  the  island  in  the  west. 

Major,  p.  198  (ante,  p.  47),  and  Captain  Becher,  pp.  108-112  (ante,  p.  37),  admit,  what  is  ob 
vious  in  the  journal,  that  Columbus  steered  for  the  second  island  on  the  afternoon  of  the  14th,  stood 
off  and  on  during  the  night,  and  the  following  day  he  was  detained  by  the  tide  or  current  until 
noon,  when  he  reached  this  second  island,  and  then  he  followed  that  side  of  it  which  ran  east  and 
west  over  ten  leagues,  and  came  to  anchor  at  sunset,  5U  40m. 

My  interpretation  is  that  he  did  not  go  beyond  this  second  island  on  the  15th,  but  that  he 
anchored  about  sunset  at  the  west  cape  of  the  side  he  had  followed.  This  would  make  his  run  10 
leagues — 31.8  nautical  miles — in  5h  40"1,  equal  to  5.G  [miles  each  hour.  Major  and  Captain  Becher 
say  that,  in  addition  to  coasting  this  side,  he  kept  on  eight  leagues— 25.5  nautical  miles — farther, 
where  he  came  to  anchor  at  sunset,  making  a  sum  of  18  leagues — 57.3  nautical  miles — in  5h  40'", 
which  gives  a  speed  of  10.1  nautical,  or  12.7  Italian,  miles  for  every  hour — greater  than  is  recorded 
anywhere  for  his  vessels.  He  must  have  had  a  gale  of  wind  all  the  afternoon  of  tbe  15th  to  have 
been  driven  at  such  extraordinary  speed;  but  there  is  no  mention  of  it  in  the  journal.  His  log 
across  the  Atlantic  was  105£  nautical  miles  a  day,  equal  to  4.4  miles  every  hour.  The  best  day's 
run  was  October  4,  200.5  nautical  miles,  an  average  of  8.4  each  hour. 

Columbus  wrote  on  the  14th  of  October,  in  respect  to  the  second  island :  "  I  looked  for  the 
largest  one  and  determined  to  make  for  it,  and  I  am  so  doing."  On  the  15th — written  on  the  IGth 
and  relating  solely  to  past  events — he  said:  "It  was  about  noon  when  I  reached  the  said  island. 
*  *  *  The  other  [side]  which  I  followed  ran  east  [and]  west,  and  contains  over  ten 
leagues.  And  as  from  this  island  I  saw  another  larger  one  to  the  west,  I  clewed  up  the  sails  for 
I  had  gone  all  that  day  until  night  [noon  to  sunset],  because  I  could  not  yet  [otherwise]  have  gone 
to  the  western  cape,  to  which  I  gave  the  name  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion,  and  about  sunset 
I  anchored  near  said  cape  in  order  to  learn  whether  there  was  gold  there."  This  is  the  island  of 
which  Columbus  wrote,  in  his  letter  to  Santangel  (ante,  p.  38):  "To  the  second  island  I  gave  the 
namjB  of  Santa  Maria  de  Concepcion."  It  lay  in  the  direction  of  the  gold;  it  was  the  largest  in 
sight;  the  Guauahani  Indians  reported,  "That  they  there  wore  very  large  rings  of  gold  on  their 
legs  and  arms."  Columbus  wrote  that  one  island  taken  possession  of,  the  same  may  be  said  of  all; 
but  it  was  his  desire  not  to  pass  any  without  taking  possession,  and  he  did  not.  After  sailing 
from  this  island  he  wrote:  "And  being  in  the  gulf  midway  between  these  two  islands  namely 
that  of  Santa  Maria  and  this  large  one,  to  which  I  gave  the  name  of  Fernandina,"  he  found  a  man 
in  a  canoe  who  had  come  "from  the  island  of  San  Salvador,  had  passed  to  Santa  Maria,  and  was 
now  going  to  la  Feruaudina,"  the  very  sequence  he  was  doing.  All  who  are  mindful  of  these  facts 
from  the  journal  of  the  14th,  15th,  and  ]6th  of  October,  may  group  them  better  than  this  to  suit 
their  own  mind,  but  in  every  aspect  they  will  outweigh  the  assertion  that  he  did  not  stop  at  that 
second  island  which  he  made  for  on  the  14th,  and  strove  for  on  the  15th. 

Columbus  anchored  at  the  northwest  cape  of  Crooked  (Santa  Maria),  at  sunset,  October  15,  and 
waited  there  until  the  following  forenoon.  He  wrote:  "And  as  from  this  island  I  saw  another  larger 
one  to  the  west,  I  clewed  up  the  sails."  It  would  appear  from  this  paragraph  that  the  island 
referred  to  came  into  view  when  he  reached  the  west  cape,  near  sunset.  Writing  of  what  took 
place  the  next  day,  he  said :  "  I  set  sail  for  the  other  large  island  that  appeared  at  the  west." 
He  begins  the  IGth  with,  "About  noon  I  left  the  islands  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion  for  the 
inland  of  Fernandina,  which  appears  to  bevery  large  to  the  west."  Long  Island  lies  25  miles  west 
of  Crooked,  and  the  range  of  hills  upon  it,  marked  150  feet  high,  are  two  miles  farther.  The 
distance  of  visibility  for  150  feet  is  14  miles,  and  for  Columbus's  lookout,  of  60  feet, 4*4* 8.8  miles; 
total,  22.8  miles.  In  consequence  Long  Island  cannot  be  seen  from  Crooked. 

I  have  alluded,  on  page  44,  to  probable  physical  changes  among  the  Bahamas  in  the  past,  but 
I  shall  not  appeal  to  these  here.  Seamen  understand  very  well  that,  in  favorable  circumstances, 
the  appearance  of.  land  is  very  striking  over  coral  islands  which  are  below  the  range  of  visibility 
from  the  observer.  This  is  especially. noticeable  in  the  Bahamas,  because  all  the  necessary  conditions 
are  there:  low  islands  of  white  coral ;  not  enough  trees  or  undergrowth  to  hinder  radiation;  a  high 
degree  of  heat,  and  the  air  loaded  with  moisture.  When  a  fall  of  temperature  happens  this  is  precip 
itated  into  a  cloud  cap  which  often  covers  the  island  like  a  blanket,  and  outlines  it.  It  is  this  and 


51 

the  blending  of  cloud  and  land  that  make/the  latter  appear,  frequently,  to  be  above  the  horizon 
when  truly  below  it.  (') 

Columbus  sailed  from  the  northwest  end  of  Crooked,  October  10,  either  at  10  a.  in.  or  noon,  for  he 
gives  both  times,  toward  the  island  which  appeared  in  the  west.  Calm  weather  retarded  him  until 
daylight  of  the  17th,  when  he  anchored  at  a  cape  of  an  island,  which  he  named  Feruandina.  Here, 
he  said,  the  coast  ran  north-northwest  and  south-southeast.  On  the  way  over  he  estimated  the 
distance  from  the  second  to  the  third  island  -^t  nine  leagues.  After  he  fe*4  arrived  he  called  it 
eight  leagues — 25.5  nautical  miles.  A  course  from  Crooked  W.  £  N.  25  miles  strikes  a  cape  cf 
Long  Island  where  the  coast  line  runs  as  given  by  Columbus.  See  chart  and  the  sub-sketch  of 
Long  Island,  the  latter  on  a  larger  scale,  which  shows  the  cape  and  trend  of  laud  more  distinctly. 
The  appearance  of  Long  Island  (Fernandiua)  from  Crooked  (Santa  Maria),  the  course  and  dis 
tance  between  them,  the  southeast  cape  and  the  trend  of  the  coast  of  Long  Island  (Fernandina),  all 
conform  accurately  to  the  facts  and  we  need  not  linger  upon  them. 

At  noon  of  the  17th  of  October,  Columbus  sailed  from  this  southeast  cape,  steering  along  the 
shore  to  the  K.  1ST.  W.,  "  the  wind  being  S.  W.  and  S."  When  he  was  near  the  end  of  the  island  "  two 
leagues  off"  he  found  a  marvellous  port  with  two  entrances  formed  by  a  rocky  islet  in  the  middle. 
Both  were  narrow,  but  within  wras  ample  room  for  100  ships,  if  there  had  been  sufficient  depth 
free  from  obstructions,  with  a  deep  entrance.  He  was  so  much  impressed  'with  this  marvellous 
port  that  he  anchored  outside  of  it  and  went  in  with  all  the  boats  and  sounded  it  and  saw  that  it 
was  too  shoal.  This  was  the  first  opening  into  the  laud  that  he  had  met  with  and  he  thought  it 
betokened  a  fresh- water  river,  therefore  he  took  in  the  water  casks.  His  former  visit  to  a  tropical 
country  was  to  Guinea  (Africa)  where  all  the  openings  into  the  shore  are  made  by  fresh- water  streams. 

The  wind  was  off  the  laud,  and  he  remained  in  this  harbor  with  the  boats,  getting  water,  for 
two  hours,  when  he  returned  to  the  vessels  and  sailed.  Columbus  wrote  that  the  entrance  of  this 
marvellous  port  was  two  leagues  from  the  end  of  the  island.  The  reader  will  observe  how  often 
the  journal  uses  leagues  and  miles  in  such  a  way  that  an  interchange  of  them  was  possible  on  the 
Admiral's  part  and  very  probable  with  the  copyist.(2)  If  the  two  leagues  of  the  journal  wqge  a 
clerical  error  for  two  Italian  miles,  it  corresponds  with  the  chart.  See  sub-sketch  of  Clarence  Har 
bor,  where  the  southeast  entrance  is  .two  Italian  miles  (1.6  nautical  miles)  from  Booby  Cay,  the 
visible  extremity  of  the  island ;  and  the  course  to  the  latter  is  K.  W.  He  wrote  that  he  sailed  on 
this  course  until  he  discovered  that  part  of  the  island  which  ran  east  and  west;  and  afterward  the 
Indians  persuaded  him  to  go  back,  and  because  the  wind  ceased  and  then  sprang  up  from  the 
W.  N".  W.,  which  was  contrary  to  his  course,  he  turned  around.  This  and  the  subsequent  courses 
point  out  that  he  was  following  this  east-and-west  shore  on  a  likely  course  of  W.  ]$".  W.  when  the 
wind  came  out  ahead.  After  turning  around  he  sailed  all  night,  E.  S.  E.,  sometimes  E.  and  also  S.  E. 
to  clear  the  land.  He  wrote  that  the  atmosphere  was  very  misty  and  the  weather  threatening,  but 
that  the  wind  was  light  and  it  did  not  permit  him  to  reach  the  laud  to  anchor,  and  that  it  rained 
hard  after  midnight  until  almost  day.  He  adds,  "We  [are]  at  the  southeast  cape  of  the  island 
where  I  hope  to  anchor  until  it  gets  clear."  He  closes  the  journal  of  the  17th  with  general  remarks, 
which  was  his  frequent  habit.  It  is  evident  that  he  wrote  this  paragraph,  and  the  last  observa 
tions  of  the  17th,  on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  at  the  southeast  cape  of  the  island,  where,  as  he  was 
exposed  to  rainy  weather  and  light  winds,  he  desired  to  anchor. 

(')  Since  I  navigated  among  the  Bahamas  alight-house  has  heen  built  at  the  N.  W.  end  of  Crooked,  and  I  wrote 
to  T.  J.  McLain,  esq.,  United  States  consul  at  Nassau,  asking  him  to  inquire  from  officials  merely  whether  Long  Island 
could  be  seen  from  it.  This  is  his  answer:  "I  saw  Capt.  W.  H.  Stuart,  who  has  commanded  the  light-house  yacht 
Richmond  for  many  years,  and  who  is  a  most  trustworthy  person.  He  agreed  to  look  up  the  matter  and  get  me  reli 
able  information.  The  Richmond  returned  lately  from  a  trip  to  the  windward  light-houses,  and  the  captain  called  to 
day  to  report.  He  says  he  inquired  particularly  of  both  the  keepers  at  Bird  Rock  Tower,  and  of  Mr.  Arauha,  who  is 
clerk  of  the  board  of  works  at  that  station,  and  the  three  united  in  saying  that  Long  Island  is  not  visible  from  Bird 
Rock  light-house,  that  they  have  never  seen  it,  even  on  the  clearest  day.  A  gentleman  residing  near  there  gays  be  has 
seen  smoke  on  it  in  a  clear  day.  And  all  four  say  that  they  have  frequently  seen  clouds  settle  over  Long  Island  in 
still  weather  like  a  stretch  of  land.  [Italics  by  G.  V.  F.]  Captain  Stuart  says  that  all  his  own  observations  confirm  the 
foregoing  statements." 

(*)  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  p.  101,  December  21,  1492 :  On  this  day  he  was  at  the  present  bay  of  Acul  on  the  north  side  of 
Hayti,  and  the  journal  reads :  "  The  distance  from  the  entrance  to  the  bottom  of  it  [Acul]  is  about  five  leagues."  This 
is  a  clerical  error  for  five  miles,  because  the  bay  of  Acul  is  25,800  feet  deep,  equal  to  5£  Italian  miles, 


52 

These  words  imply  that  he  was  at  the  cape  from  which  he  had  sailed  the^day  before.     In          £;t 
other  words,  that  he  had  retraced  his  steps  as  he  was  advised  to  do,  and  getting  back  to  a  familiar       / 
anchorage,  with  unfavorable  conditions  for  coasting  such  shores,  he  wished  to  anchor  and  wait  for 
clear  weather. 

On  page  49  I  have  asked  the  student  to  take  heed  in  adapting  the  dates  in  Columbus's  journal. 
The  caution  is  necessary  here.  The  log  of  the  18th  of  October  opens  with  a  clause  which  belongs 
to  the  remarks  quoted  above;  for  he  says:  "After  it  cleared  up  I  followed  the  wind";  the  last  of 
this  date  is,  "At  dawn  I  set  sail."  It  is  enough  to  read  the  journal  of  the  19th,  which  was  written 
in  the  evening  of  this  day,  after  arririny  at  the  rocky  islet,  to  see  that  getting  under  way  at  dawn 
of  the  18th  referred  to  the  same  act  done  at  dawn  of  the  19th.  What  he  did  on  the  18th  is  not 
obscure ;  shitting  tides  and  inconstant  winds  hindered  him  from  following  the  coast  to  a  favorable 
anchorage.  This  appears  from  his  remark  on  the  18th,  I  "went  around  the  island  as  much  as  I 
could,  and  I  anchored  when  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  sail." 

We  find  recorded  in  the  journal  certain  physical  characteristics  concerning  the  second  island 
which  belong/to  Crookeor\onlyfTnd  in  like  manner  is  the  third  island  established.  This  is  so  im 
portant  that  I  briefly  recapitulate.  Columbus  anchored  at  a  cape  of  the  third  where  the  coast  line 
was  north-northwest"  and  south-southeast.  He  followed  it  K  N.  W.  until  he  came  to  a  marvellous 
port,  two  leagues  [miles?]  from  the  end.  He  sounded  it  in  the  boats  and  found  it  capacious,  but 
shallow.  He  sailed  N.  W.  until  he  opened  that  part  of  the  shore  which  ran  east  and  west;  he 
steered  along  it  W.  N.  W.  till  the  approach  of  night  and  the  advice  of  the  Indians  caused  him  to 
turn  about. 

A  sailor  describing  the  strange  things^seen  in  new  lands  is  likely  to  put  into  his  story  some  of 
the  warmth  of  his  vocation,  but  not  in  his  log.  When  he  enters  the  course  steered,  the  depth  of 
water,  the  trend  of  the  coast,  and  the  speed  of  his  vessel,  these  are  facts  which  his  daily  duty 
calls  for,  and  the  safety  of  his  ship  may  turn  upon  the  accuracy  of  the  record.  Columbus's  de 
scription  of  the  shore-lines  and  harbor  of  the  third  island  relate  to  physical  facts  which  he  ob 
served.  They  are  his  log,  and  they  cannot  be  ignored.  It  is  essential,  therefore,  that  a  third  island 
shall  be  found  answering  to  this  description.  The  sub-sketch  on  the  chart  shows  at  a  glance  that 
the  southeast  part  of  Long  Island  is  the  only  land  and  water  that  will  fit.  See  narrative  of  Cap 
tain  Becher  17th  and  18th  of  October,  ante,  for  the  entanglement  arising  from  using  another  island 
for  the  track  of  these  two  days. 

There  is  an  element  of  time  here  which  is  important  as  it  limits  the  ground  passed  over  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  17th.  The  Admiral  left  the  southeast  cape  at  noon  and  turned  around  while 
heading  W.  N.  W.,  and  then  he  steered  an  opposite  course  during  the  night,  to  clear  the  laud.  It 
is  fair  to  select  sunset,  5b  40m,  as  the  time  of  his  turning.  As  long  as  he  could  see  the  land  and 
reefs  he  might  keep  on,  but  not  after  dark.  He  would  choose  the  day  only  to  explore  new  shores. 
In  the  night  he  might  retrace  his  steps  steering  well  off,  or  anchor,  or  heave  to,  or  stand  off  and 
on,  nothing  else.  The  distance  from  the  southeast  cape  past  the  shallow  port  and  around  to  the 
end  of  the  east-and-west  side  is  22  nautical  miles.  As  he  stopped  at  the  above  port  two  hours,  he 
was  under  way  only  3h  40'".  This  gives  a  speed  of  6  miles  an  hour,  which  is  fully  as  much  as  his 
vessels  were  likely  to  do.  Any  track  which  is  longer,  or  which  requires  more  speed  than  this, 
must  be  very  liable  to  error. 

If  Columbus  turned  at  sunset  on  the  17th  and  returned  to  the  southeast  cape  at  "almost  day" 
of  the  18th  he  sailed  in  a  night  which  had  ten  hours  of  darkness,  the  distance  he  went  over  in  3h  40'" 
of  day.  This  is  not  strange.  In  addition  to  the  various  courses  steered  to  clear  the  land,  he  says? 
of  this  night,  that  the  atmosphere  was  misty  and  the  weather  threatening,  but  the  icind  liyht. 
The  fact  that  he  followed  this  shore  at  all  during  such  a  moonless  night  is  proof  that  he  had  gone 
along  itAthe  dayApeKefceai&-and  learned  the  direction  of  -the  shores,  so  that  he  retraced  his  steps 
without  much  hazard  provided  lie  steered  icell  off.  This  he  could  do;  for  in  coasting  the  island  tlic 
;ilternoon-kefe*e  he  must  have  observed  that  there  was  no  laud  on  the  other  side  to  pick  him  up. 

Columbus  is  now  at  anchor  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  south  end  of  the  third,  or  Long  Island 
(Fernandina).  He  sailed  from  here  at  dawn  on  the  19th.  Sunrise  was  at  Oh  2L"1,  twilight  I1'  J!> "', 
dawn  at  51'  2'".  The  flag-ship  steered  S.  E.,  the  Piuta  E.  and  S.  E.,  and  the  Nifia  S.  S.  E.  Three  hours 
had  not  elapsed  when  they  saw  an  island  to  the  east  for  which  all  the  vessels  headed,  and  before. 
mid-day  they  arrived  at  the  northern  extremity,  where  there  is  a  rocky  islet.  I  take  this  to  be  the 


'  /— 
*» 


53 

north  end  of  Fortune  Island.  See  chart  and  sub-sketch  of  Crooked  Island  anchorages.  Tl  e 
Admiral  gives  no  distances  in  sailing  across.  If  he  was  fairly  under  way  at  oh  30m  and  anchored 
at  llh  30'",  the  time  was  C  hours,  half  of  which  he  steered  S.  E.  and  half  E.,  making  E.  S.  E.  if  each 
three  hours  was  equal  speed.  From  the  south  end  of  Long  Island  to  the  north  end  of  Fortune  the 
course  and  distance  are  E.  by  S.  f  S.  32  nautical  miles.  This  gives  a  little  more  than  5.3  miles  an 
hour,  which  is  fair  sailing  for  his  vessels.  Columbus  wrote  on  the  evening  of  the  19th  that  this 
rocky  islet  "lay  from  the  island  of  Fernandiua,  whence  I  had  come  east  [and]  west,  and  the  coast 
afterwards  ran  from  the  rocky  islet  to  the  westward,  and  there  was  in  it  twelve  leagues."  If  the 
last  clause  is  an  error  for  12  Italian  miles,  it  agrees  with  the  chart,  as  the  coast  inclines  from  here 
two  points  to  the  west  and  measures  10.5  nautical  miles,  or  13.2  Italian  miles. 

Long  Island  is  invisible  from  the  rocky  islet,  and  the  line  between  them  is  not  east  and  west. 
In  steering  from  Feruandina  Columbus  spread  his  vessels  from  an  E.  to  a  S.  S.  E.  course,  to  get  hold 
of  the  land ;  then  he  drew  them  together  on  one  course  and  afterward  anchored.  A  bearing  en 
tered  at  this  time  with  reference  to  an  island  no  longer  in  sight,  and  from  which  they  had  arrived 
by  steering  several  courses,  might  easily  be  If  points  in  error. 

Fortune  is  the  fourth  island  of  Coluinbus's  visitation,  the  one  he  named -&8g»  that  manful  and 
lovable  queen,  Isabela,  who  sent  him  on  his  way  when  kings  and  councils  rejected  him.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  journal  makes  the  third  island  lie  west  of  the  second,  and- the  fourth  east  of  the 
third.  This  brings  the  second  and  fourth  adjacent  to  each  other,  as  they  are  found  upon  the  chart. 
If  a  landsman  thinks  that  the  Admiral  ought  to  have  known  that  the  land  now  north  of  him  was 
the  same  which  lay  south  on  the  evening  of  the  15th,  it  can  be^answered  4ruly>  that  one  of  the  most 
perplexing  things  in  the  vocation  of  the  sea  is  the  recognition  of  lands  or  islands  that  have  no  con 
spicuous  marks.  Light-houses,  beacons,  and  pilotage  grew  out  of  this  difficulty.  Columbus  sees 
the  opposite  side  of  Crooked,  after  an  interval  during  which  he  was  harassed  by  navigating  the  shores 
of  the  third  island.  He  conies  in  sight  of  it  for  the  second  time,  while  steering  a  course  opposite  to 
that  which  he  steered  at  first;  and  of  all  islands  to  distinguish,  one  from  the  other,  or  the  different 
sides,  the  Bahamas  are  the  most  puzzling,  owing  to  their  similarity.  Irving,  vol.  i,  p.  433,  wrote 
of  the  Admiral:  "On  his  second  voyage  returning  from  Cuba,  he  coasted  the  southern  side  of  his 
favorite  island  of  Haiti  without  recognizing  it  until  a  cacique  came  off  and  addressed  him  by 
his  title  and  used  several  words  of  Castilian.  The  news  spread  joy  throughout  the  ships."  The 
mountains  of  Haiti  are  9,000  feet  high  and  are  easily  recognized  now,  for  we  know  their  height 
and  have  excellent  maps;  but  Columbus  was  making  discoveries  where  the  islands  seemed  to  be 
innumerable;  he  was  not  surveying,  nor  had  he  any  instruments  by  which  he  could  lay  down  accu 
rately  the  relative  bearings  of  the  lands. 

The  first  part  of  the  journal  of  October  20  remarks  upon  the  failure  of  the  vessels  to  get  to  the 
eastward  of  Isabella,  either  by  the  northeast  or  south,  on  account  of  shallow  water.  This  agrees  with 
the  present  cartography  of  Fortune  Island.  My  position  here  derives  strength  from  a  statement 
in  the  journal  of  ^November  20.  Navarrete,  p.  61:  On  this  day  the  Admiral  was  25  leagues — 79.6 
nautical  miles — N.  E.  f  X.  from  Puerto  del  Principe,  admitted  to  be  the  present  Cuban  port  of 
Tanamo.  The  appendix  chart  has  the  20th  of  ^November  laid  down  at  75  miles  only,  arising  from 
the  use  of  3  as  a  multiplier  for  leagues,  instead  of  3.1818.  The  Admiral  said  that  on  this  day  he 
was  12  leagues — 38.2  nautical  miles — from  Isabella.  From  here  to  Fortune  Island,  which  I  call 
Isabella,  the  distance  is  36  miles;  but  to  Great  Inagua,  Navarrete's  Isabella,  there  are  60  miles;  to 
Long  Island,  Irving's  Isabella,  67,  and  to  Crooked,  selected  by  Captain  Becher,  53.  The  journal 
adds  that  he  could  have  anchored  at  Isabella,  but  did  not  wish  to,  for  fear  that  the  Indians  he  had 
brought  from  Guanahaui  might  escape,  as  the  distance  between  these  two  islands  was  but  eight 
leagues — 25.5  nautical  miles.  Fortune  is  36  miles  from  Samana;  Crooked  and  Watling,  the  Isa- 
bella  and  Guanahani  of  Captain  Becher,  are  68  miles  apart;  Grand  Turk  and  Great  Inagua,  the 
Isabella  of  Navarrete,  are  101. 

At  the  beginning  of  October  24  Columbus  sailed  from  the  rocky  islet,  at  the  north  end  of  Fortune, 
on  a  predetermined  W.  S.  W.  course.  The  day  was  characterized  by  rain,  calms,  little  wind,  and 
then  a  "lovely"  breeze.  At  nightfall,  5h  36'",  the  soutliMiest  cape  of  Fernandina  (Long  Island) 
bore  N".  W.  distant  22.3  miles.  This  is  known  at  sea  as  "departure."  The  night  of  the  24th-25th 
he  had  strong  winds  with  rain,  and  being  on  uukuowu  ground  he  first  reduced,  then  took  in  all 
sail.  He  said  he  had  made  much  headway,  of  which  he  was  doubtful,  but  he  estimated  that  he 


54 

did  not  go  this  night  two  leagues.  The  direction  of  the  wind  is  not  noted,  lie  says  that  it  grew 
strong  suddenly,  with  mist  and  rain.  Such  wind  and  weather  are  well  known  among  the  Bahamas; 
they  are  the  sudden  rain  squalls  which  are  common  from  the  northward  and  westward  (ante,  p.  45.) 
At  sunrise  on  the  25th  he  made  sail  ;it  \Y.  S.  \\  .,  hut  at  9  a.  in.  he  steered  west— no  doubt  to  make 
the  former  course  good,  which  he  had  lost  somewhat  in  the  night,  by  drifting  under  bare  poles. 

At  3  p.  in.  the  Admiral  saw  land.  "There  were  seven  or  eight  islands,  all  extending  from 
north  to  south;  distant  from  them  five  leagues,"  15.9  nautical  miles,  lie  anchored  on  the  26th  of 
October  in  the  shallow  water  south  of  these,  which  he  called  Sand  Islands.  The  course  and  dis 
tant  from  the  rocky  islet  to  the  south  sand  island  are  \V.  S.  W.  82  miles.  The  same  from  the 
"departure" — night-fall  of  October  24th — W.  S.  AY.  (15  miles.  The  journal  gives  the  following 
distances  between  "  departure  "  and  Sand  Islands :  Night  of  the  24th-25th,  not  two  leagues.  Five 
leagues  to  9  a.  m.  on  the  25th.  From  9  to  3  p.  m.,  44  miles,  and  then  5  leagues  to  the  Saud  Islands. 
Ten  leagues,  44  Italian  miles,  are  66.8  nautical  miles.  This  accord  between  the  log  and  the 
truth,  on  thejlargest  run  the  Admiral  made  in  the  Bahamas,  is  not  accidental.  In  the  journal  of  the 
23d-24th,  we  see  that  he  is  disappointed  with  the  poverty  of  the  land  and  people,  and  his  ardent 
temperament  seizes  upon  what  the  Indians  called  Cuba,  to  signify  that  laud  of  gold  and  spices  and 
large  ships  for  which  he  had  sailed  from  Spain — Cipango  (Japan),  lie  carefully  notes  the  direction 
to  it,  pointed  out  by  the  natives,  who  would  be  most  likely  to  indicate  the  way  their  canoes  went, 
touching  at  intermediate  land.  He  believes  this  course  is  W.  S.  W.,  and  to  make  it  good  he  would 
put  forward  all  his  skill. 

About  GO  miles  IsT.  N.  E.  of  the  northeast  coast  of  Cuba,  a  Hue  of  cays  and  islands  extend  X.  ]ST.  AY- 
i  W.  and  S.  S.  E.  £  E.  for  21  miles.  The  principal  ones  are  eight :  Nurse,  Bouavista,  Kacoon,  Double 
Breasted,  Maycock,  Hog,  Great  Ragged,  and  Little  llagged.  From  the  southernmost  a  coral  bank 
stretches  28  miles  south,  and  30  east,  having  from  4  to  11  fathoms  of  water,  interspersed  with  rocky 
heads  and  shoal  spots.  This  is  known  as  the  "Columbus  Bank  ";  it  terminates  the  Great  Bahama 
Bank  on  the  southeast.  Here,  then,  is  the  fifth  island,  or  islands,  visited  by  Columbus;  and  it 
should  be  noted  that  such  a  string  of  islands,  and  bank  of  shallow  water  stretching  from  them, 
described  so  correctly  in  the  journal,  cannot  be  found  anywhere  else  in  the  Bahamas. 

He  left  this  anchorage  Saturday,  October  27th  at  sunrise  (Gh  23"')  and  steered  S.  S.  W.  for 
Cuba.  By  sunset  (5h  37m)  he  had  made  17  leagues — 54.1  nautical  miles — about  4.8  knots  an  hour. 
He  saw  the  land  before  dark,  but  kept  off  "on  the  look-out  during  the  night  with  much  rain." 
Sunday  he  resumed  his  course  S.  S.  W.,  striving  to  reach  the  nearest  laud.  Arriving  there  he 
entered  a  beautiful  river  which  had  12  fathoms  at  the  mouth.  The  courses  "logged"  from  the  Sand 
Islands  are  S.  S.  W.,  and  the  distance  54.1  miles,  which  was  made  by  sunset  Saturday.  In  the  night 
he  probably  held  his  position.  Sunday  he  again  steered  S.  S.  W.,  but  as  the  time  of  anchoring  is 
not  given,  we  do  not  know  how  much  more  was  made  on  this  course.  It  is  /6ertain7lp_nl^That  the 
distance  from  the  Sand  Islands  to  this  Cuban  port  was  more  than  the  run  to  Saturday  night,  54.1 
miles/  /f  he  anchored  early  Sunday,  which  is  probable  from  the  soundings  and  explorations  he 
made  on  this  day,  it  did  not  exceed  it  but  little. 

Columbus  designated  this  beautiful  river  and  port  with  his  favorite  title,  San  Salvador.  This 
name  has  not  been  preserved,  and  each  investigator  points  out  his  own  choice.  I  select  Port 
Padre.  The  course  and  distance  on  this  chart,  from  the  Sand  Islands,  are  S.  W.  £  S.  63  miles. 
Some  authorities  place  Padre  ten  miles  farther  west,  in  which  case  it  Avould  be  S.  W.  £^71  miles' 
The  currents  here  are  thus  spoken  of  in  the  West  India  Pilot,  vol.  i,  p.  6:  "  Sometime  the  current 
on  the  north  coast  of  Cuba  as  far  west  as  Matanzas  runs  one  to  four  knots  to  the  westward." 
The  vessels  of  Columbus  were  under  its  influence  from  Saturday  afternoon  until  he  entered  the 
river,  and  as  I  allow  no  variation  to  the  compass  (see  Appendix  C),  his  true  course  should  be  as 
much  to  the  west  of  S.  S.  W.  as  the  current  drifted  him.  Port  Naranjo  answers  the  description 
of  the  journal  as  well  as  Padre,  but  it  is  S.  f  W.  G2  miles  from  South  liagged,  and  a  vessel  could 
not,  of  course,  get  to  it  steering  S.  S.  W.  with  a  westerly  current.  I  choose  Padre  because  it  is  the 
only  port  west  of  Naranjo  that  has  depth  of  water  enough  at  the  mouth  to  satisfy  the  journal,  and 
in  other  respects  is  free  of  objections.  See  Sheet  II,  Harbors  and  anchorages  on  the  north  coast  of 
Cuba,  from  a  Spanish  plan,  U.  S.  Hydrographical  Office,  1876,  which  gives  the  soundings  of  Port 
Padre.  Outside  are  S£  fathoms;  at  the  entrance,  14;  then  8,  G,  10,  and  9,  through  to  the  harbor. 
As  a  matter  of  interest,  I  have  laid  down  a  track  for  the  vessels  of  Columbus  from  Padro  west. 


55 

as  far  as  Boca  de  Guajaba,  where  lie  probably  turned.  He  then  coasted  the  northeast  shore  of 
Cuba,  crossed  to  Hayti,  and  followed  the  north  side  to  the  present  bay  of  Samaria,  where  his  first 
voyage  in  the  Xew  World  ended.  This  track  coincides,  sometimes,  with  the  track  of  Navarrete, 
but  both  are  liable  to  be  inaccurate,  owing  to  the  imperfection  of  the  charts  of  the  north  coast 
line  of  Cuba  and  Hayti. 

Washington  Irving  lays  so  much  stress  upon  Herrera's  description  of  the  voyage  uf  Ponce  de 
Leon  through  the  Bahamas  that  I  am  constrained  to  examine  its  merit  at  the  hazard  of  making 
this  paper  wearisome  to  the  reader.  The  translation  from,  Herrera  is  in  his  Columbus,  revised 
edition,  vol.  i,  pp.  378-379 :  "  Leaving  Aguada  in  Porto  Eico  they  steered  to  the  JS".  W.  by  N.  and 
in  five  days  arrived  at  an  island  called  El  Yiejo  in  latitude  22°  30'  X.  The  next  day  they  arrived 
at  a  small  island  of  the  Lucayos  called  Caycos.  On  the  eighth  day  they  anchored  at  another 
island  called  Yaguua  in  24°,  on  the  eighth  day  out  from  Porto  Eico.  Thence  they  passed  to  the 
island  of  Manuega,  in  24°  30',  and  on  the  eleventh  day  they  reached  Guanahani,  which  is  in  25°  40' 
N.  This  island  of  Guanahani  was  the  first  discovered  by  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage  and  which 
he  called  San  Salvador." 

Irving  remarks  upon  this  that  the  latitudes  are  placed  too  high,  but  that  the  substance  is  con 
clusively  in  favor  of  Cat  Island.  He  says  Ponce  de  Leon's  first  island,  El  Viejo,  must  have  been 
Turk's  Island.  This  agrees  with  the  old  maps.  The  second  he  thinks  was  one  of  the,  Caycos. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  of  it.  The  third,  he  says,  was  probably  Mariguana.  But  Herrera  gives 
the  third  as  Yaguna ;  and  by  the  old  maps  this  appears  to  be  the  present  Inagua.  Irving  calls  the 
fourth  island  Crooked;  Herrera's  fourth  is  Manuega,  considered  by  scholars  to  be  that  now  known 
as  Mariguana.  The  fifth  island  Irving  says  is  Isla  Larga  (Long  Island),  and  lastly  Guauahaui. 
This  would  make  Guanahani  the  sixth,  but  theAnarrative  ftbovo-  gives  only  five  islands  touched  at. 

It  seems  more  reasonable  to  believe  that  Ponce  de  Leon  left  Aguado  and  steered  JS".  49°  18' 
W.  287  miles  to  El  Yiejo  (Grand  Turk).  The  next  day  he  ran  over  to  one  of  the  southerly  Caycos 
cays  some  30  miles  to  the  southward  and  westward.  He  arrived  on  the  eighth  day  at  Yaguna,  prob 
ably  Little  luagua,  75  miles  to  the  westward  of  his  last  place.  Thence  he  steered  to  the  north 
ward  55  miles  to  Manuega  (Mariguana),  the  fourth  island  since  leaving  Porto  Eico.  From  Mari 
guana  his  next  stopping-place  is  Guanahani.  Herrera  writes  that  on  the  eighth  day  out  Ponce  de 
Leon  was  at  Yaguna  (Little  Inagua),  and  on  the  llth  at  Guanahani,  having  touched  at  Manuega 
(Mariguana)  on  the  way.  This  gives  three  days  from  Yaguua  (Little  luagua)  to  Guanahani,  in 
cluding  one  anchorage  at  Manuega  (Mariguana).  The  distance  is  108  miles  from  Little  Inagua 
to  Samana,  touching  at  Mariguana.  The  same  to  Watling  is  176,  and  to  Cat  213. 

Ponce  de  Leon  was  five  days  from  Porto  Eico  to  Grand  Turk,  287  miles,  equal  to  57.4  miles  a 
day,  on  a  straight  course,  clear  of  the  laud  and  within  the  "trades".  If  we  use  tliis  distance  to 
measure  his  run  from  Little  Inagua  to  Guanahaui — and  we  have  no  other — then  these  two  islands 
were  three  days  apart,  172.2  miles.  But  he  stopped  at  Manuega  (Mariguana)  on  the  way,  so  we 
can  only  reduce  this  distance  by  guess.  But  the  less  the  distance  the  greater  the  probability  that 
Guanahaui  was,  in  the  opinions  of  the  contemporaries  of  Columbus,  an  island  not  far  from  Manuega 
(Mariguana).  If  Ponce  de  Leon  left  Little  Inagua,  touched  at  Mariguana,  and  then  anchored  at 
Samana  (Guanahani),  the  sequence  is  apparent  and  the  distance,  108  miles  in  three  days,  including 
one  stop,  is  fair.  But  to  Cat,  213  miles  in  the  same  time,  would  be  greater  speed  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  voyage,  and  there  are  several  large  intervening  islands  where  he  was  likely  to  anchor, 
as  he  did  between  Aguado  and  Manuega  (Mariguana). 

._  Herrera  was  the  official  historiographer  of  the  Indies  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  he  had 

fac  e.  fed     exclusive-  access  to  the  original  documents  of  Columbus  and  other  explorers.    Thereforc^he  is  a 

good  witness  to  cite  against  the  assertions  iu  favor  of  Grand  Turk  and  Mariguana.    If  Police  de 

Leon  sailed  from  each  of  these  islands  to  Guanahani,  neither  can  be  the  first  landfall  of  Columbus 

in  the  view  of  this  historian. 

CONCLUSION. 

There  is  a  common  belief  that  the  first  landing-place  is  settled  by  one  or  another  of  the 
authors  cited  here.  Nevertheless,  I  trust  to  have  shown,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  wherein  their 
several  tracks  are  contrary  to  the  journal,  inconsistent  with  the  true  cartography  of  the  neighbor 
hood,  and  to  the  discredit,  measurably,  both  of  Columbus  and  of  Las  Casas.  The  obscurity  and 


56 

the  carelessness  which  appear  in  part  of  the  diary  through  the  Bahamas  offer  uo  obstacle  to  this 
demonstration,  provided  that  they  do  not  extend  to  the  "log"  or  nautical  part. 

Columbus  went  to  sea  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  served  there  almost  continuously 
for  twenty-three  years.  The  strain  of  a  sea-faring  life,  from  so  tender  an  age,  is  not  conducive  to 
literary  exactness.  Still,  for  the  very  reason  of  this  sea  experience,  the  "log"  should  be  correct. 
This  is  composed  of  the  courses  steered,  distances  sailed  over,  bearings  of  islands  from  one  another, 
trend  of  shores,  £c.  The  recording  of  these  is  the  daily  business  of  seamen,  and  here  the  entries 
were  by  Columbus  himself,  chiefly  to  enable  him  on  his  return  to  Spain  to  construct  that  nautical 
map  which  is  promised  in  the  prologue  of  the  first  voyage. 

In  crossing  the  Atlantic  the  Admiral  understated  to  the  crew  each  day's  run,  so  that  they 
should  not  know  how  far  they  had  gone  into  an  unknown  ocean.  Las  Casas  was  aware  of  this 
counterfeit  "log,"  but  his  abridgment  is  from  that  one  which  Columbus  kept  for  his  own  use. 

If  the  complicated  courses  and  distances  in  this  were  originally  wrong,  or  if  the  copy  of  them 
is  false,' it  is  obvious  that  they  cannot  be  "plotted"  upon  a  correct  chart.  Conversely  if  they  arc 
made  to  conform  to  a  succession  of  islands  among  wrhich  he  is  known  to  have  sailed,  it  is  evident 
that  this  is  a  genuine  transcript  of  the  authentic  "log"  of  Columbus,  and,  reciprocally,  that  we 
have  the  true  track,  the  beginning  of  which  is  the  eventful  landfall  of  October  12,  141L'. 

The  student  or  critical  reader,  and  the  seaman,  will  have  to  determine  whether  the  writer  has 
established  this  conformity.  The  public,  probably,  desires  to  have  the  question  settled,  but  it  will 
hardly  take  any  interest  in  a  discussion  that  has  no  practical  bearing,  and  which  for  its  elucidation 
leans*so  much  upon  the  jargon  of  the  sea. 

It  is  not  flattering  to  the  English  or  Spanish  speaking  peoples,  that  the  four  hundredth  anni 
versary  of  this  great  event  draws  nigh,  and  is  likely  to  catch  us  still  floundering,  touching  the  first 
landing-place. 

SUMMARY. 


First.  There  is  no  objection  to  Samana  in  respect  to  size,  position,  or  shape.  That  it  is  a 
little  island,  lying  east  and  west,  is  in  its  favor.  The  erosion  at  the  east  end  by  which  islets  have 
been  formed,  recalls  the  assertion  of  Columbus  that  /here  it  could  be  cut  oil  in  two  days  and  made 
into  an  island.  The  Nassau  vessels  still  find  a  sung  anchorage  here  during  the  N.  E.  trades. 
These  blew  half  a  gale  of  wind  at  the  time  of  the  landfall;  yet.  Navarrete,  Varnhagen,  and 
Captain  Becher  anchored  the  squadron  on  the  windward  sides  of  the  coral  reefs  of  their  respective 
islands,  a  "lee  shore."  (See  the  chart.)  The  absence  of  permanent  lagoons  at  Samana  I  have 
t.ied  to  explain  on  p.  44. 

Second.  The  course  from  Samana  to  Crooked  is  to  the  southwest,  which  is  the  direction  that 
the  Admiral  said  he  should  steer  "  to-morrow  evening."  The  distance  given  by  him  corresponds 
with  the  chart. 

Third.  The  second  island,  Santa  Maria,  is  described  as  having  two  sides  which  made  a  right 
angle,  and  the  length  of  each  is  given.  This  points  directly  to  Crooked  and  Acklin.  Both  form 
one  island,  so  fitted  to  the  words  of  the  journal  as  cannot  be  done  with  any  other  land  of  the 
Bahamas. 

Fourth.  The  course  and  distance  from  Crooked  to  Long  Island  is  that  which  the  Admiral  gives 
from  Santa  Maria  to  Feruandina. 

Fifth.  Long  Island,  the  third,  is  accurately  described.  The  trend  of  the  shores  "north- 
northwest  and  south- southeast" ;  the  "  marvellous  port"  and  "  the  coast  which  rims  east  [and]  west," 
can  nowhere  be  found  except  at  the  southeast  part  of  Long  Island. 

Sixth.  The  journal  is  obscure  in  regard  to  the  fourth  island.  The  best  way  to  find  it,  is  to 
"plot"  the  courses  forward from  the  third  island,  and  the  courses  and  distances  backward  from  the 
fifth.  These  lead  to  Fortune  for  the  fourth. 

Seventh.  The  Bagged  Islands  are  the  fifth.  These  he  named  las  isla*  de  Arena— Sand  Islands. 
They  lie  W.  S.  W.  from  the  fourth,  and  this  is  the  course  the  Admiral  adhered  to.  He  did  not "  log" 
all  the  run  made  between  these  islands ;  in  consequence  the  "  log"  falls  short  of  the  true  distance, 
as  it  ought  to.  These  "seven  or  eight  islands,  all  extending  from  north  to  south,"  and  having 
shoal  water  "six  leagues  to  the  south"  of  them  are  seen  on  the  chart  at  a  glance. 


57 

Eighth.  The  course  and  distance  from  these  to  Port  Padre,  in  Cuba,  is  reasonable.  The  west 
erly  current,  the  depth  of  water  at  the  entrance  of  Padre,  and  the  general  description,  are  free  of 
difficulties.  The  true  distance  is  greater  than  the  "logged"  because  Columbus  again  omits  part  of 
his  run.  It  would  be  awkward  if  the  true  distances  from  the  fourth  to  the  fifth  islands,  and  from 
the  latter  to  Padre,  had  fallen  short  of  the  "  log,"  since  it  would  make  the  unexplainable  situation 
which  occurs  in  Irving's  course  and  distance  from  Mucaras  Eeef  to  Boca  de  Caravela  (ante,  p.  .36). 

From  end  to  end  of  the  Samaua  track  there  are  but  three  discrepancies.  At  the  third  island 
(ante,  p.  21)  two  leagues  ought  to  be  two  miles.  At  the  fourth  island  (ante,  p.  23)  twelve  leagues 
ought  to  be  twelve  miles.  The  bearing  between  the  third  and  fourth  islands  is  not  gnjte-gis  the  chart 
ka&ifc,  nor  does  it  agree  with  the  courses  he  steered  (ante,  p.  23).  These  three  are  fairly  explained, 
and  I  think  that  no  others  can  be  mustered  to  disturb  the  concord  between  this  track  and  the  journal.  (:) 

In  this  paper  I  mention  only  the  publications  containing  what  was  indispensable  to  the  discus 
sion.  The  student  who  is  eager  to  sift  the  matter  further  will  derive  much  aid  by  searching  among 
the  following: 

Bartlett,  John  Russell.  Bibliographical  notices  of  rare  and  curious  booTcs  relating  to  America, 
printed  in  the  XVth  andJKYIth  Centuries  (TdK^-ifim)  in  the  library  of  the  late  John  Carter  Brown, 
of  Providence,  E.  I.  Providence,  printed  forjxrivate  distribution,  1875. 

Harrisse,  Henry.  Bibliotlieca  ^Americana  Vetustissima :  a  description  of  works  relating  to 
America,  published  between  1492-1551.  New  York,  1866. 

[idem :  containing  additions.]    Paris,  1872. 

Rich,  Obadiah.  A^  jcatalogue  o£  looJcs,  relating  principally  to  America,  arranged  under  the 
years  in  which  they  were  printed.  London,  1832. 

, BiMiotheca  Americana  Nova  ;  or  a  catalogue  of  books  in  various  languages,  relating  to 

America,  printed  since  the  year  1700.  Parts  I,  1701-1800,  and  II,  1801-1844.  London,  1846. 

Bibliotlieca  Americana  Vetus  :  Books  relating  to  America,  1493-1700  [also]  Supplement. 

London,  1846. 

Stevens,  Henry.  Historical  and  geographical  notes  on  the  earliest  discoveries  in  America : 
1453-1530  [with]  fac-similes  of  many  of  the  earliest  maps  and  charts  of  America.  4*New  Haven  and 
London,  1869. 

Winsor,  Justin.  Columbus  ;  a  bibliographical  note  from  the  catalogue  of  the  TicJcnor  collection. 
Boston  Public  Library,  Bulletin'  No.  10,  1876. 

I  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  for  intelligent  help  to — 

The  Superintendent  and  assistants  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey. 

H.  L.  Thomas,  eso^,  translator  of  the  United  States  State  Department. 

Rear- Admiral  Jolm  Rodgers,  United  States  Navy,  Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Naval 
Observatory,  and  his  assistants. 

A.  R.  Spofford,  esq.,  Librarian  of  Congress. 

J.  Carson  Brevoort,  esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

T.  J.  McLain,  esq.,  United  States  consul  at  Nassau,  New  Providence,  Bahamas. 

Capt.  J.  C.  P.  de  Krafft,  United  States  Navy,  hydrographer  to  the  Bureau  of  Navigation, 
Navy  Department,  and  his  assistants. 

Commander  Juan  N.  Montajo,  Royal  Spanish  Navy. 

Professor  Pedro  Moutaldo,  Instructor  in  Spanish  at  the  United  States  Naval  Academy. 

W.  H.  Tillinghast,  esq.,  graduate  of  Harvard  University,  class  of  1877. 

Woodbury  Lowery,  esq.,  M.  A.,  of  Harvard  University,  class  of  1875. 

Theodore  F.  Dwight,  esq.,  of  the  State  Department. 

Prof.  A.  M.  E.  Elliott,  of  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

lam  also  grateful  to  the  Navy  Department  for  assistance,  and  to  the  folio  wing  libraries  for  invalu 
able  facilities :  the  Library  of  Congress,  and  of  the  State  and  of  the  Navy  Department  in  Washington , 
the  Lenox  and  Astor  Libraries  in  New  York,  and  the  Library  of  Harvard  University  in  Cambridge. 

(l)  La  Cosa's  map  preserves  the  name  of  Guanahani  instead  of  San  Salvador.  It  is  evident  that  this  sturdy  old 
seaman  was  heedful  of  the  fixed  names.  There  are  obvious  and  strong  reasons  for  saving  enchorial  names  from  oblit 
eration.  In  this  case  Guanaliani  is  the  oldest  American  name  we  have.  It  is  all  that  remains  from  the  wreck  which  the 
white  man  made  of  this  gentle  race.  If  ever  there  shall  be  any  agreement  upon  Sainaiia,  for  the  first  landing-place, 
I  hope  that  the  name  of  Guanahani  may  be  restored  to  it. 
App.  18 8 


58 


APPENDIX  A. 
AGE  OF  COLUMBUS. 

The  range  of  years  ascribed  to  his  birth  is  from  1435-'36  to  1446-'47. 

For  1435-'36  are  Bounefoux,  Irving,  Bernaldez,  Napione.  Navarrete,  Humbolt,  and  Luigi  Co 
lombo. 

For  1441,  Charlevoix. 

For  1445,  Cladera  and  Bossi. 

For  1446,  Muiioz. 

For  1447,  Spotorno  and  Robertson. 

For  144C-'47,  see  Select  Letters  of  Columbus,  2d  edition,  by  R.  H.  Major,  introduction,  pp.  xxxii- 
xxxiv. 

If  he  was  born  in  1435  his  age  was  fifty-seven  when  he  discovered  the  New  World  ;  if  in  1447 
he  was  forty-five. 

Without  attempting  an  investigation  of  the  question,  I  refer  to  the  following  exploit  of  Colum 
bus  as  bearing  upon  it,  Irviug's  revised  edition  of  Columbus,  vol.  i,  pp.  28-20 : 

"The  first  account  of  his  being  engaged  in  a  naval  expedition  was  one  fitted  in  1459  by  John 
of  Anjou,  Duke  of  Calabria,  to  make  a  descent  upon  Naples  to  recover  that  kingdom  for  his  father. 
It  lasted  [this  struggle]  four  years  [until  1463].  During  this  expedition  Columbus  was  detached  on 
a  perilous  cruise  to  cut  out  a  galley  from  the  harbor  of  Tunis.  Columbus  himself  relates  that  when 
he  arrived  off  San  Pedro,  in  Sardinia,  he  heard  that  there  were  two  ships  and  a  carrack  with  the 
galley,  by  which  information  the  crew  refused  to  go  on,  and  determined  to  go  to  Marseilles  for  re- 
enforcements.  Columbus  apparently  acquiesced,  but  altering  the  compass-card  he  so  deceived 
them  as  to  arrive  off  Tunis  instead  of  Marseilles." 

Columbus  wrote  to  King  Ferdinand  (Major,  introduction,  p.  xxxvi) :  "It  happened  to  me  that 
King  R6ne  (whom  God  has  taken  to  himself)  sent  me  to  Tunis  to  capture  the  galley  Fernaudina," 
&c.  If  the  king  sent  him  on  this  hazardous  and  independent  enterprise  during  the  last  year  of 
the  expedition  to  Naples — 1463 — he  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  if  born  in  1447.  The  naval  pro 
fession  will  not  admit  that  any  authority,  either  ancient  or  modern,  would  intrust  to  a  boy  of  sixteen 
the  execution  of  a  deed  likely  to  put  to  the  proof  the  ability  of  an  able  and  efficient  seaman. 

If  we  take  1435-'36  for  the  year  of  his  birth — and  there  the  weight  of  authority  lies — he  was 
twenty-seven  to  twenty-eight  when  he  went  to  Tunis,  and  fifty-six  to  fifty-seven  when  he  landed 
on  Guauahani.  It  is  more  reasonable  to  believe  that  he  was  fifty  to  fifty-one,  rather  than  thirty- 
nine  to  forty,  when  he  offered  his  plan  to  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain ;  and  under  all  the  circum 
stances  of  his  tedious  solicitation,  that  he  could  not  have  been  fewer  than  fifty-six  to  fifty-seven 
years  of  age  when  he  saw  the  New  World. 


APPENDIX  B. 
MILE  AND  LEAGUE  OF  COLUMBUS. 

In  Navarrete,  1st  edition,  vol.  i,  p.  258,  Columbus  wrote :  "56§  miles  to  an  equinoctial  degree." 

Page  300,  fourth  voyage :  "  The  world  is  not  so  large  as  the  common  opinion  makes  it,  one 
degree  of  the  equinoctial  line  measuring  only  56|  miles." 

Page  3,  August  3,  1492 :  "  Steered  southward  until  sunset  under  a  strong  sea-breeze,  making 
60  miles,  which  are  15  leagues." 

On  pp.  3-4  is  this  note  of  Navarrete :  "  Columbus  used  Italian  miles,  which  are  shorter  than 
the  Spanish,  thus  four  of  the  former  and  three  of  the  latter  make  a  league." 


59 

I  notice  that  writers  multiply  the  leagues  of  Columbus  by  3  and  call  the  product  a  geograph 
ical  mile.  My  search  for  accuracy,  and  to  see  where  the  multiplier  3  was  obtained,  is  not  con 
clusive.  Hear- Admiral  John  Rodgers,  superintendent  of  the  United  States  Naval  Observatory, 
after  giving  the  subject  some  investigation,  is  of  opinion  that  the  ancient  Roman  or  Italian  mile  was 
1,614  English  yards.  An  article  in  the  Penny  Cyclopedia  (Mile  and  League)  written  by  Augustus 
De  Morgan,  late  professor  of  mathematics  in  University  College,  London,  calls  the  ancient  Italian 
mile  1,614  English  yards.  Hum  bold  t  discusses  the  subject  of  leagues,  miles,  and  degrees  in  his 
llistory  of  the  Seic  Continent  (note,  vol.  ii,  p.  216)  without  bringing  their  length  to  any  undisputed 
measure.  So  with  Pigafetta  Treatise  on  Navigation,  p.  216. 

Martin  Cortes,  Breve  Compendia  tie  la  Sphcra,  tOc.,  Seville,  1551,  English  translation,  1561> 
folio  xix,  has  this  table : 

4  grains  of  barley  make  a  finger. 
4  fingers  a  hand  or  palm. 

4  hands  a  foot. 

5  feet  a  geometrical  passus. 

2  steps  make  a  passus. 

125  passus  a  furlong,  or  stadium  (old  English  furlongs  long)('). 
8  furlongs  one  mile. 
1  mile  is  1,000  passus. 

3  miles  one  league;  in  Germany  longer  leagues; 
France,  15  leagues  to  one  degree ; 

Spain,  16§  leagues  and  17^  for  a  degree  of  the  Great  Circle. 
Pedro  de  Medina,  Arte  de  Navega,  Valladolid,  1545,  prefers  4  miles  to  a  league. 
Pigafetta  says,  "  shore  leagues  3  miles ;  nautical,  4." 

On  the  9th  of  December,  1402,  Columbus  was  at  the  present  Bay  of  Acul,  Hayti.  The  journal 
reads  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  p.  84 :  Este  pnerto  tiene  en  la  loca  mil  pasos,  ques  un  ouarto  de  legua — 
"  The  harbor  here  is  about  a  thousand  paces,  or  a  quarter  of  a  league  wide  at  the  mouth."  It  is 
evident  that  with  Las  Casas  4,000  "pasos"  was  a  nautical  league.  By  using  the  table  above  and 
the  note  below,  this  league  is  found  to  be  20000.64  English  feet. 

Since  the  Italian  mile  of  Admiral  Rodgers  and  Professor  De  Morgan  is  1,614  yards,  or  4,842 
feet,  and  Columbus  called  four  of  these  a  league,  this  was  19,368  English  feet,  which  differs  only 
632.64  feet  from  that  derived  from  Las  Casas's  remark  and  Martin  Cortes's  table. 

In  the  computations  of  this  paper  the  mile  of  Columbus  is  1,614  yards  or  4,842  English 
feet,  and  his  league  6,456  yards  or  19,368  English  feet.  For  the  geographical  or  nautical  mile  or 
knot,  I  have  adopted  Clarke's  estimate  of  one  minute  of  arc  on  the  equator,  rejecting  a  small  deci 
mal.  This  is  2,029  yards  or  6,087  English  feet.  Where  there  is  an  omission  to  designate  the  kind 
of  mile  this  is  the  one  meant.  I  have  tried  to  prove  these  measures  by  comparing  them  with  some 
of  the  distances  given  in  the  journal,  but  the  result  is  unsatisfactory.  Allowing  3  leagues  de, 
parture  from  St.  Sebastian  (Gomera),  he  sailed,  according  to  his  log,  1,111  leagues  to  Guanahani- 
=  1178.33  of  Clarke's  leagues,  or  3,535  nautical  miles,  3,458  on  a  straight  course.  Cat  Island  is 
the  farthest  landing  ascribed  to  him.  It  is  3,141  miles  from  Goinera,  an  overrun  of  317  miles. 
The  Grand  Turk  is  the  nearest,  2,834  miles ;  a  difference  of  624. 

In  Dr.  Chanca's  narrative  of  the  second  voyage  of  Columbus,  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  p.  200,  the 
distance  sailed  from  Ferro  to  the  first  land,  Dominica,  is  called  800  leagues,  2545.5  nautical  miles. 
The  true  distance  is  2,529.  He  remarks  that  it  is  300  more  between  Ferro  and  Cadiz,  equal  to 
954.6  nautical  miles,  but  the  true  distance  is  774. 

(')  Modern  Metrology,  by  Jackson,  London  : 

Page  41.  "  The  present  value  of  the  English  furlong  adapted  to  the  English  statue  mile — a  modern  arrangement — 
is  132  paces,  but  as  the  old  London  mile  of  1,000  paces  was  the  local  form  of  the  Koman  mile,  its  former  value  was*  125 
paces." 

Page  66.  "Old  London  mile  =  1,000  paces  =  5, 000  feet  =  .9470  mile"— of  5,280  feet.  This  would  make  the  old 
London  mile  5000.16  English  feet. 


60 

December  5,  1492,  the  journal  has  120  leagues — 381.8  miles — for  the  distance  he  coasted  Cuba. 
From  Boca  de  Guajaba,  where  he  probably  turned,  to  Cape  May  si,  the  coast  line  is  244  miles.  In 
giving  a  summary  of  his  first  voyage  to  Luis  de  Santangel,  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  p.  1C8,  Columbus  wrote 
that  he  followed  the  coast  of  Cuba  for  107  leagues — 340.5  miles — and  the  coast  of  la  Espafiola  for 
178  "  grandes  leguas."  If  these  are  like  the  other  leagues  they  equal  500.3  miles.  The  true  distance, 
along  the  coast-line  of  Hayti,  between  St.  Nicolas  Mole  and  Samaua  Bay,  is  286  miles.  Andres 
Berualdes,  Mass.  Hist.  Col.,  vol.  viii,  3d  series,  p.  6,  said  that  Columbus  went  88  leagues — 280  miles — 
in  a  straight  line  from  west  to  east,  along  Hayti.  The  navigator  of  these  shores  still  finds  the  same 
currents  and  baffling  winds ;  but  he  is  spared  such  errors  of  distance,  because  of  the  perfection  of 
chronometers  and  of  nautical  instruments. 

Columbus  was  very  correct  in  estimating  the  short  runs.  He  called  it  ten  leagues  from 
Navidad  to  Isabella,  on  the  north  side  of  Hayti.  This  is  the  true  distance.  Considering  the  guess 
work  in  the  distances  among  the  Bahamas,  he  was  surprisingly  accurate,  as  I  have  shown  in  the 
discussion. 

Taking  the  mile  of  Columbus  at  4,842  feet,  his  estimate  of  the  circumference  of  the  globe  was 
16227.3  nautical  miles.  Clarke's  circumference,  at  the  equator,  is  21,600  nautical  miles,  each 
6 J87.ll  English  feet.  The  earth  wtts-  larger  around  by  33  per  cent,  than  Columbus  believed. 

^ 


APPENDIX  C. 

VARIATION  OF   THE   COMPASS  IN   1492. 

In  Captain  Becher's  Landfall  of  Columbus,  Appendix,  p.  331,  is  this:  "In  laying  down  the 
track  of  Columbus  from  the  Crooked  Island  group,  named  in  the  chart  the  Fragrant  Isles,  from  the 
journal  of  the  Admiral,  it  becomes  evident  from  his  courses  and  distances,  run  as  far  as  Cuba,  that 
it  was  necessary  to  allow  a  considerable  amount  of  variation.  In  his  first  voyage  he  mentioned  in 
his  journal  that  he  found  above  a  point  of  westerly  variation,  on  a  meridian  a  hundred  leagues 
west  of  the  Azores,  and  in  his  third  voyage,  when  he  is  on  the  coast  of  Paria,  he  also  mentions 
having  found,  to  the  surprise  of  the  pilots,  above  a  point  and  a  half.  And  now  that  his  courses 
and  distances  run  to  an  anchorage  in  the  bank  specified  as  being  at  the  distance  of  five  leagues 
from  the  Arena  isles,  and  from  thence  to  Cuba,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  the  variation  which  he 
found  there  in  1492  amounted  to  little  short  of  two  points  westerly." 

All  that  Columbus  wrote  in  respect  to  the  deviation  of  the  needles  referred  to  his  observations 
on  the  Atlantic  during  his  first  voyage.  Navarrete,  1st  edition,  vol.  i,  p.  8,  September  13,  1492, 
Thursday:  "On  that  day,  at  nightfall,  the  needles  north  wested,  and  in  the  morning  they  north - 
wested  somewhat  ;"  page  9,  September  17, 1492,  Monday:  "  The  pilots  [mates]  took  the  north  [star] 
marking  it,  and  found  that  the  needles  north  wested  a  full  point,  and  the  sailors  feared  and  were 
troubled,  but  did  not  tell  why.  The  Admiral  was  aware  of  it,  and  ordered  that  they  should  again 
mark  the  north  [star]  at  dawn,  and  they  found  that  the  needles  were  all  right;  the  cause  was  that 
the  star  which  appears  moves  and  not  the  needles;"  p.  15,  September  30, 1492,  Sunday:  "NOTE. — 
That  the  stars  called  las  guardias(1),  at  nightfall,  are  close  to  the  arm  in  the  west,  and  at  dawn  they 
are  in  the  line  below  the  arm  to  the  northeast,  so  that  it  seems  that  during  the  whole  night  they  do 
not  advance  more  than  three  lines,  or  nine  hours,  and  this  every  night:  this  is  what  the  Admiral 
says  here.  Also  at  nightfall  the  needles  northwest  one  point,  and  at  dawn  they  are  with  the  star 
exactly;  from  which  it  appears  that  the  star  moves  as  do  the  other  stars,  and  the  needles  always 
demand  the  truth;"  p.  254:  in  the  letter  of  Columbus  to  his  sovereigns,  giving  a  narrative  of  his 
third  voyage :  "  I  remarked  that  from  north  to  south  in  traversing  these  hundred  leagues  from  said 
islands  [one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  meridian  of  the  Azores],  the  needles  of  the  compass,  which 
had  hitherto  northeasted,  northwested  a  full  point  of  the  compass,  and  this  took  place  from  the 
time  when  we  reached  that  line;"  and  p.  256:  "For  in  sailing  thence  one  hundred  leagues  west  of 

(l)  Gtiarclias — name  given  to  two  pf  the  most  brilliant  stars  of  the  constellation  Ursa  Minor.     Dominguez,  Span 
ish  Dictionary, 


61 

the  meridian  of  the  Azores  the  ships  go  on  rising  smoothly  toward  the  sky,  and  the  weather  was 
felt  to  be  milder  on  account  of  which  mildness  the  needle  shifts  one  point  of  the  compass,  and  the 
farther  we  went  the  more  the  needle  northwested,  this  elevation  producing  the  variation  of  the 
circle  which  the  north  star  describes  with  las  guardas."  These  last  two  extracts  were  written 
during  his  third  voyage,  but  they  refer  obviously  to  what  took  place  on  the  first. 

On  the  13th  September,  1492,  Columbus  had  run  227  leagues — 722.3  miles — due  west  from  Go- 
mera,  when  he  discovered  that  the  compasses  had  westerly  variation.  By  the  17th  he  had  gone  136 
leagues — 432.2  miles — more  on  the  same  course,  when  the  observation  of  the  pilots  showed  a  full 
point  west  variation.  At  dawn,  however,  under  the  direction  of  the  Admiral,  they  again  took  the 
bearing  of  the  north  star  and  found  that  the  needles  were  "all  right."  The  abridger  does  not  give 
the  words  of  the  Admiral,  he  interprets  them,  and  they  are  hardly  intelligible.  Could  Columbus 
have  tampered  with  the  compass- card  to  allay  the  fears  of  his  crew,  as  he  did  at  Sardinia  to  get 
his  vessel  to  Tunis  (Appendix  A) I  By  September  30  he  had  sailed  295  leagues — 940.2  miles — 
additional;  total  run  from  Gomera  of  2094.7  miles  west,  during  which  he  had  made  but  four  miles 
of  southing. 

In  the  letter  of  Columbus  to  his  sovereigns,  quoted  above,  we  have  his  own  words,  clear  enough 
as  to  the  deviation  of  his  needles,  but  not  in  regard  to  the  cause.  He  wrote  that  they  changed  from 
easterly  to  westerly  on  a  meridian  one  hundred  leagues — 318.2  miles — west  of  the  meridian  of  the 
Azores,  and  thence  west  the  variation  increased  the  farther  he  went.  The  meridian  of  the  Azores 

* 

is,  probably,  that  of  Corvo,  the  most  western  one.  The  southeast  end  is  in  latitude  39°  41'  north, 
longitude  31°  07'  west  from  Greenwich. 

Captain  Becher  has  evidently  taken  for  granted  that  by  the  time  Columbus  got  to  the 
Crooked  Islands,  which  are  972  miles  west  a  little  south,  of  the  position  of  September  30,  the 
deviation  had  gone  on  increasing  so  as  to  be  "  little  short  of  two  points  westerly."  Columbus  weut 
fjur  times  to  the  West  Indies,  but  he  never  mentions  any  deviation  there.  As  already  stated,  he 
refers  to  the  north  westing  of  the  needles  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  after  he  had  crossed  the  meridian  of 

the  Azores.  Bancroft  Library 

If  the  variation  alleged  by  Captain  Becher  is  applied  to  Columbus's  courses  across  the  Atlantic 
his  track  would  go  south  of  the  Bahamas.  Captain  Becher  steers  Columbus  S.  W.  from  Watling 
to  Bum  Cay.  Two  points  west  variation  will  take  a  vessel,  at  least,  six  miles  east  of  it.  He 
steers  him  west  from  the  north  shore  of  Kum  Cay  to  the  northwest  end  of  Long  Island.  Two 
points  west  variation  would  put  the  vessels  on  shore  eleven  miles  southeast  of  the  cape.  From 
Bird  Kock  to  the  anchorage  on  Columbus  Bank,  where  Captain  Becher  anchors  Columbus,  the 
course  is  S.  W.  by  W.  But  Captain  Becher,  pp.  160, 161,  says  that  Columbus  steered  W.  S.  W. ;  so 
here  he  let  him  have/one  pomt^Ojilj^Fwest  variation,  and  yet  he  anchors  him  19  miles  too  far  to  the 
eastward.  If  he  had  given  him  the  two  points  he  says  should  be  allowed /here,  the  vessels  would 
have  made  S.  W.,  clearing  the  bank  and  going  out  of  sight  of  the  "Sand  Islands."  Columbus 
anchored  south  of  these  islands  (South  Bagged).  From  there  Port  Nipe  bears  S.  f  E.;  a  course 
S.  S.  W.,  allowiog  two  points  west  variation,  would  not  fetch  it  by  three-quarters  of  a  point;  and, 
in  addition,  there  would  be  the  strong  westerly  current  to  allow  for.  It  is  probable  that  Captain 
Becher  got  his  variation  from  Ferdinand's  Discovery  of  the  West  Indies  by  Christopher  Columbux. 
The  original  of  this  narrative  is  lost,  and  the  various  versions  have  no  standing  among  scholars 
where  the  statements  are  unsupported.  In  an  English  translation,  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels 
by  Churchill;  London,  1732,  vol.  ii,  p.  587,  is  this:  "Yet  the  Admiral  says  he  could  not  from 
this  time  give  such  an  account  as  he  would  wish,  because  through  overmuch  watching  his  eyes 
were  inflamed  and  therefore  he  was  forced  to  take  most  of  his  observations  from  the  sailors  and 
pilots.  He  also  says  that  this  same  night,  being  Thursday,  the  16th  of  August  [1498],  the  com 
passes  which  till  now  had  not  varied,  did  at  this  time,  at  least  a  point  and  a  half,  and  some  of  them 
two  points,  wherein  there  could  be  no  mistake  because  several  persons  had  always  watched  to  ob 
serve  it.  Admiring  at  this  and  grieved  that  he  had  not  the  opportunity  of  following  the  course 
of  the  continent,  he  held  on  N.  W.  till  on  Monday,  the  20th  of  August,  he  came  to  an  anchor  between 
Beaca  and  Hispauiola."  These  alleged  observations  were  taken  near  the  island  of  Margarita, 
on  the  coast  of  Paria.  They  are  worthless  on  their  face,  because,  without  moving,  the  variation 
went  from  nothing  to  two  points.  Ferdinand  refers  to  the  third  voyage  of  his  father;  but 


CLvmtt^- 


62 


have  quoted^Columbus's  own  words  of  the  same  voyage,  from  his  letter  to  the  king  and  queen,  in 
which  he  is  not  speaking  of  the  variation  on  the  coast  of  Parla,  but  of  that  he  found  on  the  A  tlantic 
during  his  first  voyage. 

The  compass-cards  used  by  Columbus  were  divided  into  points,  instead  of  points  and  quarters, 
as  now.  Sights  for  taking  bearings  were  not  introduced  until  the  next  century.  It  appears  from 
the  journal,  that  he  depended  upon  the  north  star  to  find  his  variation.  In  1402  the  polar  distance 
of  this  star  was  3°  28' ;  now  it  is  1°  20'.  There  is  no  doubt  i«t  that  he  used  the  astrolabe  and  com 
pass  to  get  its  bearing,  but  the  difference  of  5°  and  10°,  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  p.  255,  proves  that  accu 
rate  observations  for  variation  were  impossible  in  1492.  His  course  across  the  Atlantic,  worked 
from  his  log,  with  no  variation  allowed,  is  W.  2°  49'  S.  The  course  from  Gomera  to  Turk  Island  is 
W.  8°  1'  S.  Conceding  that  he  landed  at  this  the  most  southern  island  ascribed  to  him,  he  made 
5°  12'  southing,  which  might  have  been  due  to  the  southwest  current,  thatis^  is  constant  between 
the  Canaries  and  West  Indies,  rather  than  to  west  variation.  The  courses  from  Samana  or  At- 
wood  Cay  to  Cuba  have  no  allowance  for  variation. 

When  Columbus,  on  the  5th  of  December,  1492,  stood  across  from  Cuba  to  Nicolas  Mole,  Hayti, 
he  gave  the  course  S.  E.  by  E.  If  he  started  from  an  offing  of  4£  miles  to  the  northeast  of  Cuba, 
given  on  this  chart,  the  true  course  is  S.  E.  |  E.  If  he  steered  S.  E.  by  E.,  he  would  be  set  as  much 
as  three-quarters  of  a  point  to  the  southward  by  the  current  which  flows  S.  W.  in  the  "Windward 
passage." 

August,  1498 — third  voyage — Columbus  sailed  from  the  west  side  of  Margarita  Island  for  the 
city  of  St.  Domingo,  in  Hayti.  The  true  course  and  distance  are  N.  35°  W.  594  miles,  but  he  brought 
up  at  Beata,  110  miles  west  of  this  city,  N.  46°  24'  W.  558  miles  from  Margarita.  He  ascribed  his 
falling  to  leeward  solely  to  the  current;  Irving's  Columbus,  revised  edition,  vol.  ii,  p.  124. 

The  equatorial  current  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  sets  always  to  the  westward ;  on  the  coast  of 
South  America  it  is  1£  to  2  miles  an  hour;  in  mid-sea,  about  one  mile,  or  about  an  average  of  one 
mile  each  hour  to  a  vessel  standing  across.  He  was  five  days  making  the  passage  (120  hours), 
during  which  he  was  set  to  the  west  110  miles.  On  his  last  voyage  he  fell  to  leeward  also  in  cross 
ing  this  sea,  and  it  was  almost  fatal  to  him.  Nowhere  does  he  attribute  his  westing  to  any  cause 
but  the  true  one — currents.  If  the  compass  was  flying  about  as  Ferdinand  wrote,  or  if  there  was 
any  deviation  in  the  West  Indies  worth  noticing,  a  seaman  as  accurate  as  Columbus  in  noting 
physical  things  should  have  recorded  it. 

Expressing  my  doubts  of  the  correctness  of  Captain  Becher's  allowance  for  variation  to  the 
Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  he  called  upon  his  assistant, 
Mr.  C.  A.  Schott,  for  a  scientific  examination  of  the  subject.  The  result  was  a  paper  written  by 
him,  dated  April  8,  1881,  which  will  appear  in  the  report  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey  for  1880,  appendix  19.  Mr.  Schott's  deductions  are  that  the  deviation  in  1492  in  the  Bahamas 
did  not  exceed  one-quarter  of  a  point  west. 

For  the  reasons  stated  here  I  have  allowed  fet  no  deviation  of  the  needle  on  any  course  in  1492. 


APPENDIX  D. 

THE  LOG  OF  COLUMBUS  ACROSS  THE  ATLANTIC  OCEAN,  1492. 

Las  Casas's  abridgment  of  this  is  in  the  first  volume  of  Navarrete,  pp.  1-166.  Columbus  said, 
in  his  prologue:  "I  have  decided  to  write  daily  and  minutely  everything  that  during  that  cruise 
I  should  do  and  see  and  how  much  I  should  run.  *  *  *  In  addition  to  the  marking  each 
night  my  progress  during  the  day,  and  each  day  the  run  made  during  the  night,  to  construct  a 
new  chart,"  &c. 

Pages  3-4:  "  We  left  Friday,  3d  day  of  August,  1492,  from  the  bar  of  Saltes  at  8  o'clock ;  we 
steered  under  a  strong  sea-breeze  until  sunset  to  the  south  sixty  miles,  which  are  fifteen  leagues ; 
afterwards  southwest  and  south  by  west,  which  was  the  course  for  the  Canaries." 

I  am  informed  that  the  Spanish  naval  service  reject  days  of  the  week,  and  use  those  of  the 


63 


month  only,  and  that  their  sea  day  begins  at  noon  of  the  civil  day.  Until  1847  the  English  and 
United  States  naval  service  kept  the  usual  civil  day  in  port,  but  at  sea  the  day  began  at  noon, 
twelve  hours  before  the  civil  day. 

It  is  not  clear  what  day  Columbus  used.  His  prologue  seeins  to  refer  to  the  ancient  sacred 
day  of  the  Jews,  or  that  of  the  Church,  beginning  at  sunset.  The  Athenians,  Chinese,  Italians, 
and  others  reckoned  by  this.  Beading,  carefully,  all  his  log,  I  find  days  which  might  furnish  argu 
ments  for  his  use  of  the  present  civil  day,  or  that  he  might  have  counted  either  from  noon  to  noon 
or  sunset  to  sunset.  In  this  paper  I  shall  consider  that  he  used  the  present  way,  midnight  to  mid 
night.  The  island  of  Gomera,  from  which  Columbus  sailed,  is  14  by  11  miles,  nearly  a  round  mass 
of  mountain,  rising  to  4,400  feet.  The  harbor  of  St.  Sebastian  lies  a  little  south  of  the  east  end, 
and  by  "Bowditch's  Navigator"  is  placed  in  latitude  28°  6'  north,  longitude  17°  8'  west  from  Green 
wich.  After  he  fead.  left  this  port  he  was  becalmed  until  Saturday  night,  when  the  first  course 
"logged"  is  W.  Since  some  departure  must  be  allowed  to  clear  the  land,  I  have  put  down  3 
leagues  S.  W.  £  W.,  barely  enough  to  enable  him  to  begin  a  W.  course.  I  do  not  know  whether 
he  went  south  or  north  of  Gomera ;  I  make  his  course  south,  because  the  prevailing  winds  there 
are  from  the  northward  and  eastward. 

The  most  western  island  of  the  Canaries  is  the  one  called  Hierro  by  the  Spanish,  and  Ferro 
by  the  Portuguese.  The  parallel  of  27°  44'  north,  and  the  meridian  of  18°  west  from  Greenwich, 
pass  through  the  middle  of  the  island.  This  was  the  "prime  meridian"  from  Ptolemy  until  the 
last  century.  Hierro  is  34  miles  S.  "W.  by  W.  £  "W.  from  Gomera.  Columbus  left  St.  Sebastian 
Thursday  morning,  September  6,1492.  "Directing  his  course  for  the  voyage  *  *  *  he  was 
becalmed  all  day  and  night."  *  *  * 

September  7 :  "  The  whole  of  Friday,  and  on  Saturday  until  three  hours  after  nightfall,  he  was 
becalmed."  *  *  * 

September  8 :  "On  Saturday  three  hours  after  nightfall  it  began  to  blow  from  the  northeast, 
and  he  resumed  his  course  to  the  west,"  &c. 

His  voyage  began  three  hours  after  sunset— about  9h  36m  p.  m. — Saturday,  September  8.  The 
following  ai  e  the  dates,  courses  steered,  and  distances : 


Date. 

Courses. 

Distance  in 
leagues. 

Remarks. 

September  6  to  8,  allow  

S.W.4W  
West  

3 
9 
49 
60 
40 
33 
33 
20 
27 
39 
50 
55 
25 
7.5 
13 
30 

This  is  the  allowance  for  departure. 
His  predetermined  course. 

S8 
>t 

7>  \o 
• 

M  & 

*~v 

Baffling  winds  and  calms. 
Contrary  wind. 

Some  calm  and  high  sea. 

Steered  S.  W.,  supposing  he  saw  land. 
Same  reason  for  going  S.  W. 

' 

Sunday,  September 
Sunday,  September 

Sunday,  September 

9  

do  

10  

....do  

11  

do  

12  

....do  

13  

....do  

14  

....do  

15  

....do  

16  

....do  

17  

....do  

18    

do  

19  

do  

20  
21      

W.byN  
West           

22  
23  

W.N.W  
(N.W    

<!  N.W.by  N  

24    

(  West  

22 
14.5 
4.5 
17 
16 
15 
24 
14 
24 

West       

zr> 

JWest  

S.AV  

26 

t  West  

is.  w 

27  

"West  

28  

..  do  

29... 

...do.. 

64 


Date. 

Courses. 

Distance  in 
leagues. 

Ill-marks. 

Sunday,  September  30  

West  

14 

October   1  

...do  .  . 

25 

«&* 

2  

do  

39 

3               

do  ... 

47 

4     

...do  

63 

5               

.    do 

57 

0     

do  

40 

t  West       ... 

23 

I  W.S.W     

5 

Steered  W.  S.  W.  because  flocks  of  birds  (lew  in  tint  direction 

g 

W  S  W 

11  5 

{S."W  

6 

0  

W.byN  
W.S.W  

5 
20.5 

Baffling  winds. 

10  -.  

W.S.W  
c  W.S.W  

59 

27 

11  

{West  

17 

Changed  bis  course  to  west  at  sunset-  gives  no  reison  for  it 

i  West  

5.5 

Friday  October  12  

\  ..do  

2 

Discovered  land  at  2  a.  m.,  two  leagues  distant 

1,111 

Columbus's  leagues. 

Allowing  for  the  detention  by  calms  in  the  Canaries,  departure,  and  difference  of  time,  he  was 
33J  days  from  Gomera  to  Guanahani. 

In  the  above  log  I  have  not  copied  his  daily  remarks  during  the  voyage,  for  they  have  no  bear 
ing  upon  this  discussion.  I  have,  however,  noted  that  he  never  deviated  from  his  predetermined 
west  course,  unless  constrained  by  head  winds,  baffling  winds,  or  the  strong  appearance  of  laud 
to  the  southward  and  westward.  And  the  student  will  take  notice  that,  notwithstanding  the 
observations  in  regard  to  the  westerly  variation,  on  the  13th,  the  17th,  and  the  30th  of  September, 
the  Admiral  did  not  alter  his  courses  in  order  to  make  true  west,  but  that  he  held  firmly  to  icest 
by  compass. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  or  "traverse  table"  of  his  courses  and  distances  across  the 
Atlantic : 


Courses  by  compasses. 

Columbia's 
leagues. 

Nautical 
leagues. 

Nautical 
miles. 

Difference  of  lati 
tude. 

Departure. 

V. 

S. 

E. 

W. 

S  W  JW                          

3 

882.5 
12.5 

3.2 
936 
13.3 
55.1 
40.3 
130.4 

9.5 
2,808 
40 
165.5 
121 
391 

6 

7.3 
2,  808 
39.2 
152.9 
85.6 
361 

West                         

W  bvN                 

7.8 
63.3 

W  N  W                   

52 
38 
123 

S.  W     

85.6 

"W  S  W                            .                

149.4 

Total                                        .     .      

1,111 

1,  178.  35 

3,535 

71.1 

241 

3,454 

If  this  table  is  worked  out  by  "  Mercator's  Sailing^'  in  "  Bowditch's  Navigator,"  which  is  not  so 
accurate  as  "plotting"  each  day  on  the  chart,  but  is  near  enough  for  practical  purposes,  then  his 
course  and  distance,  by  dead  reckoning,  are  W.  2°  49'  S.,  3,458  nautical  miles. 

From  Gomera  to  Grand  Turk  the  course  and  distance  are,  W.  8°  1'  S.,  2,834  miles ;  Gomera 
to  Mariguana,  W.  6°  37'  S.,  3,032  miles ;  Gomera  to  Watling,  W.  4°  38'  S.,  3,105  miles ;  Gomera 
to  Cat,  W.  4°  20'  S.j  3,141  miles;  and  from  Gomera  to  Samana  (Atwood's  Cay),  W.5°  37'  S.,  3,071 
miles. 

He  overran  the  distance- between  Gomera  and  Grand  Turk  by  G24  miles;  Gomera  and  Mari 
guana  by  426  miles ;  Gomera  and  Watling  by  353  miles ;  Gomera  and  Cat  by  317  miles ;  and  Go 
mera  and  Samana  by  387  miles.  These  overruns  might  have  been  due  to  the  current  between  the 


65 

Canaries  and  the  West  Indies,  which  always  sets  to  the  southward  and  westward  in  mid-ocean,  and 
more  westerly,  near  the  West  Indies.  It  varies  from  9  to  30  miles  per  day,  according  to  the  force  of 
the  trade-winds. 

It  increases  onr  estimate  of  the  determined  spirit  of  Columbus  that  he  "  logged  " — believed  that 
he  had  actually  made — 3,535  miles  directly  into  the  "  Sea  of  darkness,"  exceeding  by  500  miles  the 
distance  between  New  York  and  Liverpool. 

In  1492  latitude  was  found  by  meridian  altitude  of  the  sun,  or  by  the  north  star. 

Major,  introduction,  p.  li,  has  it,  that  about  1480,  "  by  the  joint  labors  of  Martin  Behaim  and 
the  Prince's  two  physicians,  Eoderigo  and  Josef,  *  *  *  the  astrolabe  was  rendered  serviceable 
for  the  purposes  of  navigation,  as  by  its  use  the  seaman  was  enabled  to  ascertain  his  distance  from 
the  equator  by  the  altitude  of  the  sun." 

Humboldt's  Cosmos,  translated  by  Ott6,  London,  1849,  vol.  ii,  p.  670:  "The  astrolabe  described 
by  Eaymond  Lully,  in  his  Arte  de  Navegar,  was  almost  two  hundred  years  older  than  that  of  Martin 
Behaim."  Second  volume  of  Cosmos,  p.  630,  he  speaks  of  Martin  Behaim's  invention  as  "  perhaps 
only  a  simplification  of  the  meteoroscope  of  his  friend  Begiomontannes." 

Bosses  Columbus,  2d  edition,  Paris,  1825,  p.  151 :  "  The  astrolabe  received  in  the  13th  century 
its  form  which  made  it  universally  used.  Andelone  del  Nero,  of  Genoa,  wrote  upon  it,  and  pub 
lished  it  at  Ferrara,  in  1477." 

Chaucer's  treatise  on  the  astrolabe,  1391,  edited  by  Walter  W.  Skeat,  London,  1872,  p.  xxiv, 
says  that  it  was  well  known  in  India  and  Persia,  by  the  Arabs,  and  spoken  of  by  Marco  Polo.  On 
p.  xxxiii  is  a  description  of  its  powers,  among  which  are  the  latitude  of  any  place  by  two  obser 
vations  of  the  pole  star,  or  any  circumpolar  star,  or  sun's  meridian  altitude;  can  be  used  to  discover 
approximately  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  and  in  what  part  of  the  heavens  the  sun 
rises,  &c. 

The  longitude  was  gotten  by  "dead  reckoning."  The  speed  of  a  vessel  was  estimated  by  the 
eye.  There  is  no  mention  of  the  u  log-line"  until  the  next  century. 

The  time  was  kept  by  the  "  sand-glass." 


APPENDIX  E. 

THE  VESSELS  OF   COLUMBUS.     ,. 

Very  little  is  known  in  regard  to  the  vessels  that  took  the  first  discoverers  to  the  New  World. 
Clark's  Maritime  Discoveries,  vol.  i,  p.  xxvii:  "The  chief  characteristics  of  ships  of  Da  Gaina's 
age  (close  of  the  fifteenth  and  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century)  were  height  of  poop  and  prow, 
squareness  of  lower  yards,  taunt  masts,  and  small  round  tops." 

In  Churchill's  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  London,  1732,  vol.  ii,  is  Ferdinand  Columbus's 
history  (narrative)  of  the  discovery  of  the  West  Indies  by  his  father.  On  p.  586:  "The  Admiral 
durst  proceed  no  farther  in  his  ship,  which  required  three  fathoms  water,  being  of  a  hundred  tun.'? 
This  refers  to  the  date  of  August  10, 1498,  third  voyage,  off  the  coast  of  Paria.  Irving's  Columbus, 
revised  edition,  vol.  i,  p.  123:  "Peter  Martyr,  contemporary  of  Columbus,  says:  Only  one  was 
decked,  built  up  high  at  the  prow  and  stern,  with  forecastles  at  the  prow  and  cabins  at  the  stern." 

Columbus's  journal,  October  11 :  "The  Admiral  at  10  o'clock  at  night  standing  on  the  castle  of 
the  poop;"  farther  on,  he  "requested  and  admonished  them  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  at  the  fore 
castle."  In  the  History  of  the  Catholic  Sovereigns,  Ferdinand  and  Isabela,  by  Bernaldez,  an  extract 
of  which  is  printed  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  vol.  viii,  third  series,  pp.  52-53 : 
"They  found  themselves  in  only  2  fathoms  of  water;  *  *  *  the  vessels  being  often 
aground.  *  *  *  They  found  2  fathoms  and  a  cubit(!)  of  water  and  room  for  the  caravels  to 
remain,  and  they  anchored."  These  extracts  refer  to  the  second  voyage  of  the  Admiral,  when  he 
was  among  those  many  islands  on  the  south  side  of  Cuba,  which  he  called  the  "Queen's  Gar 
dens."  On  this  voyage  he  had  three  large  ships  and  fourteen  caravels;  but  in  February,  1494, 

(')  Cubit  is  generally  stated  to  be  18  English  inches— old  Paris  foot=12.789.  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  in  Johnson's  Uni 
versal  Cyclopaedia. 

App.  18—9 


66 

be  sent  twelve  back  to  Spain,  from  Navidad,  and  he  pursued  his  voyage  with  the  caravels  (small 
vessels),  as  mentioned  by  Bernaldez.  A.  Jal,  Arclieologie  Navale,  Paris,  1840,  vol.  ii,  p.  237:  "Ton 
nage  of  vessels  of  the  fifteenth  century  voyaging  to  the  Canaries  were  90  tuns  (about),  supposes  a 
length  of  keel  of  70  to  80  (French  feet)(1)."  On  p.  229  he  deduces  the  length  and  breadth  of  Ooluiu- 
bus's  vessels,  first  quoting  from  Las  Casas's  Narrative  in  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  p.  70:  "Tuesday  27th,  9th 
month,  1492.  This  mouth  of  a  stream  was  of  the  breadth  of  5  (brasses  French)  brazas,  which  Avas 
in  dimensions  the  length  of  the  boat."  Then  he  adds:  "A  boat  of  5  brazes  would  suppose  a  vessel 
of  27m  77C  total  length,  and  8m  12°  amidships,  according  to  Venetian  treatise  in  Memoir  5." 

On  referring  to  Navarrete,  p.  70,  November  27,  1492,  we  find  the  following  to  be  the  true  rend 
ering  of  the  day  Jal  speaks  of:  "  After  the  vessel  had  anchored  the  Admiral  jumped  into  the  boat 
in  order  to  sound  the  port,  which  is  like  a  small  porringer;  and  when  he  was  opposite  the  mouth 
at  the  south  he  found  an  entrance  to  a  river  which  was  so  wide  that  a  galley  could  enter  therein, 
and  in  such  a  manner  that  it  was  not  seen  until  it  was  reached,  and  entered  into  at  about  one  boat's 
length  it  had  five  fathoms  and  eight  in  depth." 

Fincham's  History  of  Naval  Architecture,  p.  34,  date  referred  to,  1498:  "Cabot  *  *  *  was 
authorized  to  take  six  ships  out  of  any  haven  in  England,  of  the  burthen  of  200  tuns  and  under." 

Page  44:  "The  largest  of  Drake's  vessels,  1577,  was  the  Pelican  of  100  tuns  burthen." 

Review  of  the  Laws  of  Tonnage,  by  G.  Moorsom,  London,  1853,  p.  1 :  "  Whatever  was  originally 
intended  by  tonnage  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  only  term  by  which  we  form  an  idea  of  the  magni 
tude,  or,  rather  the  dimensions  of  vessels.  A  law  to  be  established  for  tonnage  admeasurement 
would  have  reference  only  to  cargo,  and  that  in  its  simplest  consideration,  namely,  the  greatest 
weight  which  a  vessel  could  safely  carry." 

Moorsom  says  that  the  first  official  measurements  of  vessels  were  of  those  carrying  coal,  and 
the  date  1422 ;  that  in  1694  a  government  official  marked  the  draft  with  nails  on  the  stem  and  stern,  by 
first  loading  to  those  marks  by  a  dead  weight  of  tin  or  lead.  In  1720  the  English  Parliament,  under 
the  influence  of  competition  of  the  tonnage  dues  being  evaded  by  small  vessels  bringing  spirits 
into  the  kingdom,  passed  this  general  law  for  tonnage :  "  The  length  of  the  keel^so  much  as  she 
trends  on  the  ground)  is  to  be  multiplied  by  the  inside  midship  breadth  and  the  whole  divided  by 
94 :  the  quotient  is  to  be  considered  the  true  contents  of  the  tonnage."  By  acts  of  1773  the  extreme 
or  external  breadth  was  substituted  for  the  internal  breadth ;  the  length  of  the  keel  to  be  three- 
fifths  of  the  extreme  breadth,  deducted  from  the  length  from  the  front  of  the  stem  to  the  aft  side 
of  the  stern  post.  This  law  remained  in  force  until  the  admeasurement  of  the  cubic  contents  was 
substituted,  by  England  in  1835-1855,  and  the  United  States  in  1864. 

In  the  fifth  volume  of  Pepys's  Miscellany,  p.  57,  date  1652,  the  dimensions  of  the  Greyhound 
are  given:  Length  of  keel,  60  feet;  breadth,  20  feet  3  inches;  depth,  10  feet;  burthen,  120  tons;  men, 
80;  guns,  18.  This  vessel  was  in  the  old  war  which  began  in  1652,  and  in  Pepys's  Memoirs  relat 
ing  to  the  state  of  the  navy  in  1688,  this  vessel  was  then  at  sea. 

If  we  apply  the  act  of  Parliament  of  1720  to  the  dimensions  of  this  vessel,  subtracting  1.65  feet 
from  breadth  as  an  allowance  for  thickness  of  sides,  to  obtain  inside  breadth,  the  result  is  120  tons, 
which  shows  that  the  act  of  1720  only  confirmed  the  usage  of  1652. 

Applying  this  act  to  Jal's  vessel  of  27m  77°  length,  and  8m  12C  breadth,  we  have  a  vessel  91 
feet  long,  75  feet  keel,  26^-  beam,  and  13  feet  hold,  measuring  254  tons,  manifestly  too  large  for 
Coluinbus's  flag  ship. 

Spain  exported  wine  in  the  fifteenth  century,  as  now,  and  the  old  English  expression  of  a  tun 
of  wine  meant  two  pipes,  252  gallons,  each  gallon=231  cubic  inches.  Taking  a  gallon  of  wine  at 
8.33  pounds,  this  makes  a  ton  only  2,099  pounds,  but  the  difference  to  reach  2,240  was  probably  an 
allowance  for  the  interstices  of  the  casks. 

If  the  ship  used  by  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage  was  called  either  by  him  or  his  contemporaries, 
in  round  numbers,  100  tons,  it  was  probably  the  expression  of  the  dimensions  of  vessels  which  traded 
to  England  with  wine  and  paid  tonnage  dues  there,  which  was  a  specific  sum  for  every  tun  of  wine 
imported  into  the  kingdom.  Therefore,  if  the  act  of  1720,  and  Pepys's  dimensions  of  the  Greyhound, 

(!)  Cubit  is  generally  stated  to  be  18  English  inches;  old  Paris  foot=12.789.— F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  in  Johnson's  Uni 
versal  Cyclopcedia. 


67 

1652,  which  agree,  are  used  to  find  the  dimensions  of  the  hundred-ton  vessel  ascribed  to  Columbus, 
we  get:  length  on  deck, 63  feet;  length  of  keel,  51  feet;  extreme  breadth,  20  feet;  inside  breadth  for 
tonnage,  18  feet  6  inches ;  depth  of  hold,  10  feet,  and  draft  of  water,  10  feet  6  inches.  These 
make  a  vessel  of  lOOff  tons. 

The  rig  of  the  Santa  Maria  is  mentioned  in  the  journal  of  October  24  (Navarrete,  p.  39,  and 
£  #  ante,  p.  3?i)  and  this  is  all  the  information  I  can  find  bearing  upon  the  subject.  Columbus  wrote : 
"  I  carried  all  the  sails  of  the  ship,  the  main  sail,  tttttk  two  bonnets,  the  fore  sail,  and  sprit-sail, 
and  the  mizen,  and  the  main  top  sail."  This  omission  of  a  foretop  sail  seems  strange  to  our  nautical 
ideas,  but  vessels  similarly  rigged  are  to  be  seen  on  the  Ortelius'  map,  Theatrum  Orbis  Terrarum, 
Antwerp,  1570.  Sprit-sails  have  been  dispensed  with  in  modern  times,  only  since  the  steeve  of 
bowsprits  has  been  lessened  and  the  size  of  jibs  increased. 

I  finished  a  cruise  around  the  world  in  the  United  States  brigantine  Dolphin,  which  had  a 
length  from  front  of  the  stem,  under  bowsprit,  to  inside  of  stern  post  of  88  feet;  breadth  of  beam 
outside,  25  feet;  inside,  23;  depth  of  hold,  10  feet;  draft  aft,  10  feet;  forward  8  feet,  including  the 
keel,  which  was  1  foot  6  inches.  By  Pepy's  dimensions  and  the  act  of  1720,  the  Dolphin  would  be 
205  tons.  Her  armament  was  two  9-pounders  and  eight  24-pound  carronades.  Officers  and  crew, 
70.  Foretop  masthead  71  feet  6  inches  above  the  water,  and  maintop  masthead  81  feet  6  inches. 

1  assume  for  the  masthead  lookout  of  the  admiral's  ship  a  height  of  60  feet  above  the  sea. 

His  vessel  probably  carried  four  anchors  and  they  all  used  hemp  cables.  February  20,  at  the 
Azores,  returning  from  his  first  voyage,  he  mentions  that  the  cables  were  chafed  off  by  the  rocks 
and  he  put  to  sea.  Fourth  voyage — Major,  p.  194:  "I  anchored  at  an  island  where  I  lost  at  one 
stroke  three  anchors.  *  *  *  The  single^}  anchor  that  remained  to  me." 

They  had  pumps — Major,  p.  195:  "With  three  pumps,  and  the  use  of  pots  and  kettles,  we 
could  scarcely,  with  all  hands,  clear  the  water  that  came  into  the  ship." 

Rudders. — The  ancient  way  to  steer  was  with  two  large  paddles,  one  thrust  through  a  port 
.  cG~  on  each  quarter/  The  hinged  rudder  had  come  into  use  in  Columbus's  time.  (See  figure  of  a  ship 
with  both,  in  Peregrinatio  ad  Terram  Sanctam,  of  Breydenbach,  Mentz,  1486.) 

Boats. — From  a  careful  study  of  the  narrative  and  words  of  Columbus  I  infer  that  his  vessel 
and  also  the  caravels  each  had  but  one  boat.  October  14  (ante,  p.  14):  "At  dawn  I  ordered  the 
boat  of  the  ship."  When  his  vessel  was  wrecked,  on  Christmas  eve,  1492,  the  journal  of  December 
25  says  that  the  boat  was  got  out  to  lay  an  anchor  astern,  but  deserted  to  the  Mna,  whose  com 
mander  sent  it  back  with  his  own  to  render  assistance.  It  appears  from  the  journal  of  January 

2  that  the  Admiral  left  to  the  colony  of  Navidad,  among  other  things  from  the  Santa  Maria,  "the 
boat  of  the  ship."    In  the  narrative  of  Diego  Mendez — Major,  p.  220 — Mendez  wrote  with  respect  to 
the  capture  of  the  boats  of  the  caravels  in  a  river  in  Veragua,  that  the  three  vessels  of  the  Admiral 
were  at  sea  without  boats,  which  would  have  been  unlikely  if  any  one  had  carried  a  spare  boat. 
On  his  fourth  voyage — Major,  p.  177  :  "The  ship  which  we  had  the  greatest  fear  for  had  put  out 
to  sea  for  safety  and  reached  the  island  of  Gallega,  having  lost  her  boat  and  a  greater  part  of  her 
provisions."    When  he  was  at  the  Azores,  February  19,  on  his  return  voyage,  the  Portuguese 
governor  seized  the  boat  and  half  the  crew  of  the  MSa,  who  were  on  shore  at  their  devotions,  and 
the  Admiral  got  under  way  in  Ms  vessel  to  open  a  view  of  the  town,  to  see  what  had  become  of  it. 

There  is  a  decided  difference  of  opinion  in  enumerating  the  number  of  persons  with  Columbus 
on  his  first  voyage.  Ferdinand  Columbus  wrote  that  90  went  in  the  three  vessels;  Peter  Martyr 
and  Giustiniani,  120 ;  Jal,  p.  228,  that  he  left  at  Bohio  55  men,  and  returned  to  Spain  with  about 
125,  making  180  in  all ;  Las  Casas,  Navarrete,  vol.  i,  pp.  121-122,  that  he  left  in  the  island  of  Es- 
paiiola,  which  the  Indians  called  Bohio,  thirty-nine  men ;  Diego  de  Arana,  Pedro  Gutierrez,  Eod- 
rigo  Escovedo,  "  with  all  the  powers  he  held  from  their  Highnesses."  A  notary  and  constable, 
carpenter  and  caulker,  gunner  and  machinist,  cooper,  physician,  and  tailor,  "  and  all,  he  said,  that 
men  of  the  sea." 

This  enumeration  makes  48 ;  but  the  true  one  is  probably  given  in  Navarrete,  vol.  2,  p.  19,  note: 
40  men  and  the  3  lieutenants,  or  43  in  all.  In  the  journal  of  December  26,  1492,  we  notice  that 
after  the  shipwreck  many  *of  the  crew  asked  the  Admiral  for  permission  to  remain  until  his  return 

C1)  Italics  by  the  writer. 


68 

from  Spain,  ami  on  the  2d  of  January  it  is  recorded  tliat  he  left  with  thorn  all  the  goods  sent  for 
trafficking,  and  everything  belonging  to  the  wrecked  vessel,  besides  biscuit  and  wine  for  a  year,  and 
provisions.  We  learn  from  Major,  p.  82,  that  his  stores  comprised  biscuit,  corn,  wine,  pork,  and  salt 
beef.  Bernaldez  says^he  took  ten  Indians  with  him  to  Spain.  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon  had  deserted 
with  the  Pinta  before  the  shipwreck,  and,  since  Columbus  believed  him  to  be  on  his  way  to  Spain? 
he  acted  as  though  he  had  only  the  little  Nina  with  which  to  finish  the  voyage.  In  these  circum 
stances  it  is  a  reasonable  belief  that,  on  account  of  space,  if  for  no  other  reason,  he  must  have  left 
at  Navidad  at  least  as  many  persons  as  composed  the  crew  of  the  wrecked  vessel. 

February  19,  at  the  Azores,  he  sent  half  of  the  crew  of  the  Nina  on  shore  to  perform  a  vow  in 
a  church;  one  boat  from  this  vessel,  which  was  the  smallest  of  his  squadron,  took  all.  This 
implies  that  the  crew  were  few.  These  facts  persuade  me  to  adopt  the  enumeration  of  Ferdinand 
Columbus,  90  persons  for  the  three  vessels.  The  inscription  in  the  pavement  of  the  cathedral 
of  Seville  is :  Con  tres  galeras  y  90  personas. 

Neither  Spain  nor  America  has  founded  any  enduring  memorial  to  Christopher  Columbus. 


